# What's the best way to get Richter's Beethoven?



## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

What are the best sets to buy?
Thanks :tiphat:


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Are you mainly after the Sonatas? or are you wanting other things he played like Piano Concertos 1 & 3, Cello Sonatas, Violin Sonatas, etc?


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## Itullian (Aug 27, 2011)

realdealblues said:


> Are you mainly after the Sonatas? or are you wanting other things he played like Piano Concertos 1 & 3, Cello Sonatas, Violin Sonatas, etc?


Sonatas...............


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## Rinaldo (Jul 24, 2020)

He never recorded a complete cycle, but you could start with the live recitals from Carnegie Hall on Sony.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Richter Plays Beethoven on Profil


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## Jokke (Dec 28, 2013)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/67M3f1A4OeyTSK79GSQ7Xe?si=CEj6vgtKRmS7oI33BB7ELw

There is a playlist on spotify with Richters Beethoven piano sonatas.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Itullian said:


> What are the best sets to buy?
> Thanks :tiphat:


The ones that come to mind - you know I don't listen to much Beethoven any more - are

The op 14s on BBC Legends

The Prague Diabelli Variations and Op 106

The Live Classics Op 110

The RCA op 26 and 54

The violin sonatas with Kagan

Bear in mind that it's many years since I listened seriously to this sort of thing, so I may not feel the same way now.

There were some bagatelles and early sonatas too - maybe op 2s on Music and Arts and bagatelles on Melodyia.

Real Beethoven people all love the Leipzig concert with op 111. I can't stand it! And most piano people like the earlier performances more than the later ones, but I feel exactly the opposite.


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## realdealblues (Mar 3, 2010)

Itullian said:


> Sonatas...............


I have 4 Box Sets Of Richter

Going through what I have:

DG/Decca/Philips Complete Recordings
Piano Sonatas #9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 19 (2 recordings), 20 (2 recordings), 22, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32

EMI/Warner Complete Recordings
Piano Sonatas #1, 7, 17

Eurodisc Complete Recordings
Piano Sonatas #3, 4, 27

Columbia/RCA Complete Recordings
Piano Sonatas #12, 22, 23 + 3, 9 & 12 live at Carnegie Hall


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

With Richter's Beethoven, you have to buy the individual CDs, since there isn't a box set that sufficiently includes a selection of his best Beethoven recordings; rather they're spread out across many different labels, such as Eurodisc/Melodiya/Olympia/JVC, RCA, Philips, Praga, EMI, Stradivarius, Music & Arts, BBC, etc.. However, with that said, I don't know the Profil set that wkasimer has mentioned--are they all Soviet era Melodiya recordings? in below average to poor sound? In addition, Richter recorded his Beethoven over many decades, and not all of his Beethoven playing is of a similar high quality, or in ideal sound--such as his earlier Soviet recordings & his early 1960s live Carnegie Hall concerts, now reissued by Sony, which didn't sound especially good on LP, as I remember. So you may not want it all. Although at his best--which generally means Richter's recordings from the 1950s up to around the mid-1970s (with a few exceptions from the later years)--Richter was one of the great Beethoven pianists. I'd personally place him in my pantheon of the greatest Beethoven pianists that I've heard in my life--alongside Rudolf Serkin, Solomon, Annie Fischer, Youra Guller, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Emil Gilels, Bruno Leonardo Gelber, pre-stereo Wilhelm Kempff (especially on APR), Clara Haskil, Beveridge Webster (for his Hammerklavier Sonata), Artur Schnabel, Yves Nat, Ivo Pogorelich (for his Op. 111), Claudio Arrau (mostly in the 5 piano concertos), etc.

Here are the Richter Beethoven discs that I'd most recommend you look into, although you'll need to sample each of them before purchasing, if so inclined, in order to make sure that you're okay with the sound quality: Plus, I've placed an asterisk by those performances that I'd take with me to my desert island (note that there will also be some overlapping of sonatas on these CDs, since Richter's recordings are usually live and he tended to play the same (substantial) repertory throughout his career--except for Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata, which he only played in concert in 1975 and it was recorded three times during that year--in Prague, London, & at the Aldeburgh Festival):

1. *Richter on EMI: I especially like Richter's EMI recordings of *Piano Sonatas 1, 7, & 17 and the *Andante Favori. There have been various reissues of these recordings, but your best bet is probably to get them in the Richter EMI Icon box set (although with the "Tempest" sonata I probably prefer Clara Haskil & Glenn Gould):

*This EMI recording is essential Richter & shows his Beethoven playing at its best, IMO: 



*Andante Favori--Richter plays this work about as well as anyone (there's also a Russian recording, as well): 



.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8652835--beethoven-piano-sonatas-nos-1-7
The Richter EMI Icon set includes his EMI Beethoven Piano Sonatas 1, 7, & 17 and Andante Favori on disc one, plus, the 4th & 5th "Spring" Violin Sonatas with violinist Oleg Kagan: https://www.amazon.com/Icon-Sviatos...ds=richter+icon&qid=1595883280&s=music&sr=1-1
(As an alternative issue for possibly better sound?, here's a Japanese import of the Piano Sonata no. 17, "The Tempest", coupled with Schumann's Fantasia in C major as on the original EMI LP: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...en+japan+import&qid=1595881303&s=music&sr=1-1

2. Any & all of Richter's live in Prague Beethoven recordings on the Praga/Le Chant du Monde label are well worth hearing, as long as you don't mind the mono sound:

--*Richter live in Prague: June 2, 1975 Hammerklavier (available on Praga and Music and Arts): https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...chter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-3. Despite the mono sound quality, this is one of the great Hammerklaviers on record, IMO. It may have been reissued on Praga hybrid SACD, I'm not sure. (EDIT: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-So...hter+beethoven&qid=1595879816&s=music&sr=1-61.)

--Richter: live in Prague: https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-20. Again, these performances may have been reissued on Praga hybrid SACD. (EDIT: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...hter+beethoven&qid=1595879392&s=music&sr=1-35.)

--Richter: live in Prague: https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Prag...hter+beethoven&qid=1595879816&s=music&sr=1-52. Again, these may be reissued on hybrid SACD, which would likely be preferable, sound-wise. (EDIT: https://hdmusic.me/sviatoslav-richter-beethoven-iv-piano-sonatas-nos-3-7-12-22-2013-sacd-iso/.)

3. *Richter: live in London, 18 June 1975, Royal Festival Hall (released by ICA Classics, Amadeus, Musica Viva, St-Laurent Studio, and Stradivarius)-- Here's a link to the Stradivarius CD: https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Live...hter+beethoven&qid=1595879816&s=music&sr=1-56. I recall that Stradivarius has reissued the recording, but I can't seem to find a link to the newer release. (EDIT: Here it is: https://www.prestomusic.com/classic...ta-no-29-in-b-flat-major-op-106-hammerklavier.) This same 1975 concert from Royal Festival Hall, London is also available on ICA Classics: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8024388--sviatoslav-richter-plays-beethoven. If pressed to choose, this would be my pick for the greatest modern piano performance of the Hammerklavier on record (though Richter's Prague & Aldeburgh performances, & the Hammerklavier sonatas by Solomon, Emil Gilels live in Moscow in 1984, and Annie Fischer are in the same league):




For his encore that night, Richter played the fugal movement from the Hammerklavier (for a second time), which he once compared to the construction of Noah's Ark, & he plays this extremely difficult movement brilliantly!: 



.

4. *Richter: live in Leipzig, 1963, on the Parnassus label (& Music & Arts and Urania)--a famous concert & highly regarded Richter Beethoven recording (EDIT: I see that it's included in the Profil box set): https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Leip...chter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-6
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8306510--beethoven-the-last-three-piano-sonatas




But as much as I treasure Richter's 1963 Leipzig recital, I prefer Rudolf Serkin's 'unreleased' Sony recordings of nos. 30 & 31, and Youra Guller in no. 31: 



.

5. *Richter: volume 2 of the "Great Pianist series": the two CDs in this set offer performances from the early 1960s and 1993. The 1993 Op. 109, 110, & 111 are very good performances, so good that you might not guess this is late Richter: https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-12

6. Richter: live in Kiev, vol. 12: https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...o+sonata s+1+7&qid=1595882063&s=music&sr=1-5

7. Richter on Philips/Decca (*=the 1960s Philips recordings): 
https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Mast...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-13
*First rate Richter Beethoven from the early to mid 1960s, recorded in Paris, Ferrara, & Salzburg: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7956747--sviatoslav-richter-the-master-volume-6
https://www.popsike.com/AL-3457-Bee...hter-1963-EXCELLENT-Mono-LP/253260093603.html
--On Philips (coupled with the Liszt Piano Concertos): https://www.amazon.com/Liszt-Piano-...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-10

8. Richter on Eurodisc/Olympia/Melodiya--the same performances on reissues: 
https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-22
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-34

--*Richter "Eroica Variations", Six Variations on a Turkish March, Op. 76, etc.: also on Eurodisc/Melodyia/Olympia: My favorite recordings of Beethoven's "Eroica" Variations are by Emil Gilels live on the Hanssler label: https://www.prestomusic.com/classic...ncO0lo_46gIVh5WzCh2tng_KEAQYESAB EgIyIfD_BwE (& in the studio on DG) and Richter here on Eurodisc, Olympia, or Melodiya. (While Bruno Leonardo Gelber would be my 3rd choice on Orfeo.) Again, this is Richter's Beethoven at its very best, IMO:










9. *Richter on Russian Revelation (the Op. 111 here is the same performance as on Music & Arts--see below): https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-La...sian+revelation&qid=1596224962&s=music&sr=1-2

10. Early Richter on Doremi (not in ideal sound): https://www.amazon.com/RICHTER-ARCH...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-15

11. Richter on BBC Legends: 
https://www.ebay.com/c/71535949
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-So...ethoven+richter&qid=1595968681&s=music&sr=1-4
This is Richter's Hammerklavier recording from the Aldeburgh Festival in Blythburgh, on June 11, 1975: 



. It probably has the best sound quality of his three Hammerklaviers, but I prefer the other two performances in Prague & London: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-So...r+bbc+beethoven&qid=1595963321&s=music&sr=1-3. Jed Distler at Classics Today rates this Hammerklavier a 10 for performance and an 8 for sound; however, his benchmark for the Hammerklavier is Richter's Prague performance.

New to me: in reviewing Richter's discography, I find that there is possibly an extra 1975 performance of the Hammerklavier that I didn't previously know about, recorded on June 28, 1975 in Tours, France. It was released on CD by St. Laurent Studio YSL SR 197506 28, but I can't find any further information on it, except that the label is located in Saint Alban's, Vermont, in the USA & they have a website. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to still be in print...? Has anyone heard this performance?

12. Richter: live on Denon: https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Piano-Sonatas-Nos-Richter/dp/B001QWFUDI

13. Richter on Pyramid Records: https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...richter+pyramid&qid=1595968751&s=music&sr=1-1

14. On Music & Arts:
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-So...beethoven+op.+7&qid=1595881678&s=music&sr=1-4
https://www.amazon.com/Sviatoslav-R...o+sonata s+1+7&qid=1595882063&s=music&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Mu...beethoven+op.+7&qid=1595881678&s=music&sr=1-2

15. RCA, a wild (& some might say 'over the top') performance of the "Appassionata" Piano Sonata no. 23, coupled with Richter's classic Brahms Piano Concerto no. 2 with Leinsdorf & the CSO: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richter-Plays-Beethoven-Brahms-Johannes/dp/B000003EUL. However, I prefer Emil Gilels in this sonata.

It's a pity that Richter never recorded the "Moonlight" Piano Sonata, which I would have liked to have heard him play, and of course the other unrecorded sonatas, too.

Other recommendable non-piano sonata Beethoven recordings by Richter:

--*Complete Cello Sonatas, with Rostropovich, on Philips: These are great recordings if you're a fan of Rostropovich's cello playing. If not, Richter's piano playing on these recordings is still remarkable: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7927386--beethoven-complete-music-for-cello-piano.

--*Violin Sonatas, with violinist David Oistrakh--whatever you can find by Oistrakh & Richter, I'd recommend--though again sound quality may be a consideration, as they were one of the great violin duos (I have their OOP recordings on the Le Chant du Monde label, as part of the Oistrakh Edition):












https://www.ebay.com/i/184363508958...jZDIobXu6gIVjJCQBB124gyHEAEYAyAA EgLVNPD_BwE

--*Violin Sonatas, with violinist Oleg Kagan, who was a student of Oistrakh's, on Live Classics & EMI (Violin Sonatas 4 & 5):




This 2 CD EMI double forte set may be even more essential for Kagan & Richter's phenomenal Mozart playing than the two Beethoven Violin Sonatas (btw, Oistrakh thought highly of his pupil's Mozart, as did Richter): https://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Violi...+beethoven+emi&qid=1595881104&s=music&sr=1-12
For Kagan & Richter's Beethoven, I might more strongly recommend their Live Classics CDs; although one of my favorite Kagan Beethoven Violin Sonata recordings is a Live Classics CD with pianist Vassily Lobanov & not Richter--which includes a fantastic no. 8 & no. 10, Op. 96:





https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8438949--beethoven-oleg-kagan-edition-vol-viii.

--*Richter's classic DG account of Beethoven's Piano Concerto no. 3: this is essential Richter in his prime, and IMO, it is preferable to Richter's later recording of the 3rd with Riccardo Muti on EMI: https://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Piano...hter+beethoven&qid=1595878848&s=music&sr=1-19.

--Richter's 1960 live account of the Piano Concerto no. 1, with Charles Munch & the Boston Symphony Orchestra on RCA Victor. The remastering of these live radio recordings has always been an issue on CD, but now there is a release that has been remastered from the original stereo tapes for the first time and it sounds very good (comparatively): https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8002063--sviatoslav-richter-s-boston-debut#tracklist. The alternative: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8085061--beethoven-piano-concerto-no-1-piano-sonata.

At the very least, it should now be clear why I think a single 'box set' of Richter's Beethoven could never suffice (unless a good portion of the above recommendations are in the Profil set? which I seriously doubt). There are simply way too many indispensable Richter Beethoven recordings that are issued on different labels, & they'll never likely all be boxed together in one set.

If you're having trouble sorting out which performances above are reissues on different labels (as there's likely some overlapping in my suggestions), here's a link to Richter's Beethoven discography, which should help sort most of it out: it will also show which sonatas he recorded & those he didn't get to (as well as what's in the Profil box set): http://pianistdiscography.com/discography/pianistComposer.php?comRich=5&mediaType=0&PIANIST=1.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

With Richter one does have to be discerning as the recordings made towards the end of his career tend to be disappointingly plain. I have a superb (Early) Beethoven 1 piano concerto But the later version is disappointing


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