Search - Sviatoslav Richter :: Sonatas with Richter

Outstanding Brahms sonata from a devoted duo

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Richter always went his own way, and this CD represents his devoted partnership with the violinist Oleg Kagan, well known in the Soviet Union but not in the West -- he died prematurely. The two have made many recordings based on concert appearances. I seek the recordings out and find them exceptional. This Brahms Violin Sonata #1, captured in good sound, is true to form, a very original and insightful reading. The opening of the first movement is startlingly fast, and yet Richter-Kagan make the tempo work. Elsewhere their pacing is more conventional, but from bar to bar something new and fresh is always happening. Many violinists have gorgeous tone but few ideas. Kagan is the opposite, and the grit he adds to Brahms' soft melodic lines makes them bracing and new.



The Mozart and Haydn sonatas were of less interest to me -- neither is among the composer's great works, yet they are played extremely well, needless to say. Richter is in a gentle mood, which pervades both sonatas, and Kagan follows susit, giving the piano equal weight, as in a shared dance whose intent is to be graceful and pleasurable above all."