Search - Sviatoslav Richter :: Russian Piano Tradition-The Neuhaus School

Thank you, Appian!

Polarius | Up North | 07/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Richter, as known, is the most recorded piano artist in history, and everything he has left of himself on tape is worth hearing at some point (even with the extremely variable sound quality). But this disc is one for the ages. Thanks to Appian, a small specialist label specializing in historical recordings that showcase "the Russian piano tradition," we now have the unexpected blessing of having access to the only recording Richter made of Schubert's greatest sonata (the A minor, D845). (I think also D850 might be his only one available on CD, but I may be wrong.) The performance is nothing short of stunning. Richter is at the peak of his in any case totally incomparable powers, and everyone with even a modicum of interest in this greatest of all pianists in our time, or Schubert, should immediately act to get this release before it (once again) is too late. Here is finally the one recording to put alongside Pollini's (of the D845), as different the two are even when serving the same selfless goals that only these two artists seem capable of attaining on the absolutely highest technical level of execution.



As always, with Richter the question of the recording quality is almost irrelevant. As soon as you start listening to him, everything else disappears from consciousness except the music's inner essence. As Neuhaus, the greatest piano pedagogue of the last century (and teacher of just about every Russian pianist you are floored by), noted, "Only a pianist whose genius is a match for the composer's, a pianist who is the composer's brother comrade and friend, can play like that" (see the excellent liner notes by Bryan Crimp.) So that is probably why. Is there anyone else like Richter? If so, I've yet to hear the evidence. Here the mono recordings from 1957 (D845) and 1956 (D850) are nonetheless much more than decent, some tape distortion notwithstanding, allowing Richter's characteristic piano tone to soar and sing despite the inherent limitations of age and available technology (though by this time Melodiya, from whose tapes these new transfers were made, had already taken a qualitative leap forward in their sound recording capability).



The add-on Impromptu in E flat major is from 1950, and you can of course clearly hear the difference in comparison. It's played rather differently, too, with the then-young Richter more impetuous, even violent, which I'm not always so sure fits in the nature of Schubert. But the radical difference from his latter-day, rather stark approach to Schubert (the Tokyo recordings, for example) is enlightening to say the least.



In other words, be prepared for a truly extraordinary journey. If you haven't heard Richter's Schubert before, you will be up for a revelation. I would put the D845 on par with some of Richter's most astonishing and at the same time most persuasive performances like the Leipzig live taping of Beethoven's final three (now newly remastered), an almost unattainable standard in itself. The D850 is close by and the Impromptu a fascinating curiosity.



One hundred stars and humble gratitude to those responsible for making these tapes available again: a great service to humankind with expert audio restoration engineers contributing in full measure.

"

Not the only version of D845 and D850

Mark Fleischmann | New York, NY -- an island off the coast of America | 10/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is not the only release with D845 and D850. They have also been released together by the Monitor Collector's Series. I cannot say whether this is the same performance. I'll give this one five stars only because I don't want to drag down the rating."