Richter

Hello everbody!

I've been listening to russian performers lately, and I must admit that I'm impressed by Sviatoslav Richter. Do you know maybe where can I download more of his recordings on the web? So far I have Beethoven, Schubert and Rachmaninov performances. What do you think about him anyway?

And what do you think about Arthur Rubinstein?

 

search on http://www.youtube.com for "Richter" there you will have some videos of him playing a Chopin Etude in 1min and 3seconds.

and rubinstein is a whole different topic.

 

http://www.russiandvd.com/store/audio.a ... &orderby=0
Go here and scroll down to Richter. Press on a CD, and preview it. The previewing ends up playing the whole CD!

 

forgot to tell you my opinion about richter:



Damn! :shock:


...that's it.

 

I've never been a fan of Richter. Technically stunning? Yes. Musically moving? No. He just never 'did it' for me. I have a (rather inconvenient) tendency to cry uncontrollably when someone really hits me emotionally with a performance. Richter leaves me dry-eyed.

Pete

 

Interesting - the same happens to me, if something hits me emotionally, not only performance wise, it depends also on the piece of music. If I listen to a good take on Mozarts "Ave Verum" or Bachs "O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde gross" (even sometimes if I play the latter piece myself on organ) I simply cannot hold on and start to cry.

Regarding Richter, I like him much. Maybe he is not the greatest player emotionwise (pretty much the opposit to Artur Rubinstein (referring to the initial statement from slavicek)), but technically seen he is brilliant. He played almost every composer. I have among others, the Bach WTC1 played by him. From the several WTC1 interpretations I have (Schiff, Gould, Barenboim) I prefer Richter by far. And ... already his first prelude from WTC1 don't let me dry-eyed!

 

I agree, Bach is Richter's strong point. His Chopin leaves me emotionless. Watching him play makes me nervous.

PF

p.s. How's your Chopin Op28/17?

 

I have no Chopin recordings of Richter. But can imagine that he would leave me emotionless as well on Chopin.

My Chopin 28/17 prelude? Did not make a rerecording from that take what is located on the PianoSociety site. Play it now a bit faster (I now count complete bars as "inner clock", I believe that helps that the melody line comes out better) and with more rubato. However some sloppy spots were introduced because I play it only from time to time, without eliminating those trouble spots. I need more practising time, time, time...

What's about with recordings from you, Pete? Do you plan something to submit? Chopin Scherzo?

 

Guy (and gals) thank you very much for your help. I'm glad you started a conversation on Richter. His Chopin alsways gets me dry-eyed as well, but still, every Chopin does the same to me I listened to his Pathtique sonata recording, and it really is brilliant in a technical aspect, but the beggining (the grave part) is a bit too fast in my opinion. Still, I find his Eroica variations the very best performance ever. So as Schumann's Noveletten op.21 as well. But ok, it's just me.

 

Yes, I can't wait to make a submission of something other than text.

The first things I'll submit are Chopin etudes 10/1, 10/2, 10/5, 10/7, 10/9, 10/12 and maybe 25/11, although the latter still doesn't feel finished. I have all of opus 10 memorized, but some of it is not nearly as good as I want it. After that, Chopin's "Polonaise Militaire" and some of his preludes. Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" (complete) My repertoire is full of memorized pieces, but is somewhat lacking in musically polished performances.

I don't have high quality recording equipment and I won't have unfettered access to a concert grand until December. So, I'm aiming for around Christmas.

Pete

 

well, Ive got the cd box richter the essential. It's very good but he makes somtimes much mistakes. His playing is crazy. There is told me that he was trying to do new stuff under a concert. that's crazy.

www.youtube.com you need to search on the art of piano playing. There are some minutes about gilels and richter!

 

I've never heard that "new stuff", but why would trying to put something new into performance be considered as a crazy thing to do? Of course, if it turns out to sound fine. For example, Ivo Pogorelich has a enitre different approach to everything, and still many of his performances are outstanding.

 

Seriously, his Bach lets me fall asleep. Some of the preludes are played pretty well, but overall it's too loud, way too much pedal and very "wrong".
His Chopin is a bit too much Russian .

His Liszt is very exciting, but not much than that. I like the way he rushes through the Etudes :lol: .

His Rachmaninov and Prokofiev are :shock: stunning.

His Beethoven is one of the best I've ever heard.

 

I have a copy of Richter playing Chopin's third Ballade that brought tears to my eyes the first time I heard it. I can send you a copy of it if you want.

While I'd agree that Richter may not be the most emotional player ever, he certainly was a technical genius (ever seen the man's hands fly over the piano while playing Chopin's 4th etude?). I have an album of him playing Rachmaninoff's etudes that are so bloody accurately and perfectly interpreted that I would be hard-pressed to compare them to any other recording ever made. I also have a recording of Ashkenazy playing the same pieces, and there really is just no comparison. I can also send some copies of these if you'd like.

I think the thing to remember is that every pianist has their quirks, their character, and their own sense of musicality. Comparing one to the other is like taking a trip down the hallway of an art museum -- you may not like everything you see, and not all of the masters' pieces are going to look the same, but none of them are "wrong." Everything requires interpretation and understanding, and most importantly, a little bit of flexibility with your own ears.

 

I've tried, I mean, really efforted to enjoy Richter's Chopin. Yeah, some of it is very good but for the most part I can't find enjoyment. It's probably just one of my quirks. :wink:

Peter

 

No doubt. I can't claim to have enjoyed a lot of his Chopin (I heard a recording of him playing scherzo no. 4 that was just painfully slow and boring), but these couple of recordings were the exception, I guess.

What it boils down to is that he's very Russian in character, and personally I think he's better suited to Russian composers. Most of his Rachmaninoff I've thought fairly highly of. No doubt the guy's got the arms of steel.

 

You're absolutely right!

Pete