# Richter



## Lukecash12

When was the last time we sat down and had a good, long talk about Richter? I say it's time to do it again, my friends. And to start it off, here's a recording of his that seems to say "Bam! Pow! Kaplooie!"


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## Aramis

He's kwel. I own his Debussy and Prokofiev and like it. I think I also got few other recordings with him at the piano, but these are from top of my duck.


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## Polednice

A splendid combination of some of my absolutest, positivelyest favouriteses:

Carlos Kleiber, Richter and the Dvorak Piano Concerto





Yum


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## Lukecash12

Personally, I loved his performances of Schumann's Symphonic Etudes and Carnavals.


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## Air

My favorite pianist. Can't say enough good things about him.

Digging his Schubert D960 (Praga recording) right now.


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## Guest

I have down loaded his complete Schubert Sonatas, yet to be burned to CD, how do they rate in your opinion??


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## Lukecash12

Andante said:


> I have down loaded his complete Schubert Sonatas, yet to be burned to CD, how do they rate in your opinion??


They're off the charts. That's how they rate.


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## Guest

Lukecash12 said:


> They're off the charts. That's how they rate.


Hells bells Luke, are they really that bad:


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## Lukecash12

Andante said:


> Hells bells Luke, are they really that bad:


Yes, they're deplorable.  I'm taken aback that you even mentioned them.

I'd tell you to go in the corner and play with a coloring book, but I'm not quite that mean.


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## Air

Andante said:


> I have down loaded his complete Schubert Sonatas, yet to be burned to CD, how do they rate in your opinion??


Which recordings did you download? Not to say any of his Schubert is mediocre (he's unmatched for me as far as Schubert is concerned), but the quality really depends on the performance and the sound quality (For example, the Schubert D960 on the Praga label is one of my favorites, but the one on Regis is good also.)

Anyways, I don't think you _can_ be disappointed in the long run. Richter's Schubert is unlike any I've ever heard. It's slower, more transcendent, more communicative. He takes his time to feel out the details, taking you to the realm of the "heavenly" in the late sonatas, something very few pianists can achieve. It is also with these Schubert recordings that Glenn Gould stated that Sviatoslav Richter was one of the greatest musical communicators of our time.

In other words, Richter _is_ off the charts. Please don't try to compare him to Lupu, Schnabel, Brendel, Rubinstein, Sokolov, Fischer, Sofronitsky (the D960 would be my second choice), and _especially Kempff_ (!). It's a disgrace.


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## Guest

Air said:


> In other words, Richter _is_ off the charts. Please don't try to compare him to Lupu, Schnabel, Brendel, Rubinstein, Sokolov, Fischer, Sofronitsky (the D960 would be my second choice), and _especially Kempff_ (!). It's a disgrace.


I also have the Kempff waiting to be burned should I not waste my CDs ??


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## Air

Andante said:


> I also have the Kempff waiting to be burned should I not waste my CDs ??


Go ahead, it is quite good. Very good. Just some people purchase that set and think they've got all the Schubert Sonatas recordings they need and will ever need. But the truth is, Kempff doesn't even hold a candle to Richter, IMHO.

Which Richter recordings did you download?


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## Guest

Yeh, I will burn later, I have just had a quick look at the Richter and it is not a complete set they are some off the BBC recordings, sorry about that, the truth is that I am stock piling my d/l to do in the near future and some of the folders need re tagging


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## Lukecash12

Air said:


> In other words, Richter _is_ off the charts. Please don't try to compare him to Lupu, Schnabel, Brendel, Rubinstein, Sokolov, Fischer, Sofronitsky (the D960 would be my second choice), and _especially Kempff_ (!). It's a disgrace.


I'll compare him to Sofronitzky all day long. But this is Richter's thread, and I don't wish to upstage him.


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## Air

Lukecash12 said:


> I'll compare him to Sofronitzky all day long. But this is Richter's thread, and I don't wish to upstage him.


Nor should I have compared the two, because you may very well be right. Sofronitsky is a pianist that I'm just starting to understand, and who knows what I'll think of his Schubert once I'm more familiar with his style. Two titans for sure and they admired each other very much. They don't deserve our "esteemed" comparisons.

Are you a fan of Richter's Prokofiev? Here's a composer I think he was unmatched in. A perfect match because Prokofiev's piano music is virtuosic in language, but musical in purpose. Richter also has that added "fire" that one needs to take on Prokofiev oeuvre. If you ever get a hand his the 6th, 7th, and 8th piano sonatas Philips's "The Great Pianists" series, you are one lucky person. It is absolutely amazing.


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## Argus

This is a great interpretation:








I like his little shoes.



> Personally, I loved his performances of Schumann's Symphonic Etudes and Carnavals


I'll second this.


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## Lukecash12

Air said:


> Nor should I have compared the two, because you may very well be right. Sofronitsky is a pianist that I'm just starting to understand, and who knows what I'll think of his Schubert once I'm more familiar with his style. Two titans for sure and they admired each other very much. They don't deserve our "esteemed" comparisons.
> 
> Are you a fan of Richter's Prokofiev? Here's a composer I think he was unmatched in. A perfect match because Prokofiev's piano music is virtuosic in language, but musical in purpose. Richter also has that added "fire" that one needs to take on Prokofiev oeuvre. If you ever get a hand his the 6th, 7th, and 8th piano sonatas Philips's "The Great Pianists" series, you are one lucky person. It is absolutely amazing.


I guess I'm pretty lucky, then. Yes, I think Richter was pretty lively when it comes to more modern music. A lot of times, it wouldn't be difficult to think of him as the helter skelter pianist. For example: He interprets Chopin's revolutionary etude almost as if he were a sterner version of Cziffra.


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## Air

Lukecash12 said:


> I guess I'm pretty lucky, then. Yes, I think Richter was pretty lively when it comes to more modern music. A lot of times, it wouldn't be difficult to think of him as the helter skelter pianist. For example: He interprets Chopin's revolutionary etude almost as if he were a sterner version of Cziffra.


I disagree with the helter-skelter part. Richter was often on the edge, but he always managed to keep it under control. His Prokofiev has a perfect "vitality" to it. His Schubert definitely is not helter-skelter, one can see that it's his heart not his fingers that do the speaking; ultimately, it's his to make or break. If you're referring to the Scriabin sonata posted below, well, I like Scriabin's 5th sonata like that. 

Does anyone own the entire _Sviatoslav Richter a Prague_ set? I own individual CDs from it (Chopin-Scriabin, Schubert, Beethoven) but can't afford the whole $500+ set. Maybe when I'm a millionaire, I can afford that, and all the Pearl sets (Rosenthal, Friedman, Moiseiwitsch, etc.). Piano recordings are just so darn expensive.



Argus said:


> This is a great interpretation:


Karl Richter is amazing too, but we're discussing Sviatoslav Richter, the venerated pianist.


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## Lukecash12

> I disagree with the helter-skelter part. Richter was often on the edge, but he always managed to keep it under control. His Prokofiev has a perfect "vitality" to it. His Schubert definitely is not helter-skelter, one can see that it's his heart not his fingers that do the speaking; ultimately, it's his to make or break. If you're referring to the Scriabin sonata posted below, well, I like Scriabin's 5th sonata like that.


You are right about that, for sure. He was pretty stern in comparison to others. But I've heard a few wild ones by him, that you may just be surprised.

But on a different note: 




Some might call this interpretation of Vers La Flamme lethargic, but I feel that it's rather insightful.


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## Argus

Air said:


> Karl Richter is amazing too, but we're discussing Sviatoslav Richter, the venerated pianist.


I know, hence the .

I just noticed there was no mention of his first name in the thread.

So instead I will offer this great interpretation:






(I haven't provided links to all the parts of the piece, as they are in the video responses)


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## dafnis

wonderful pianist, with an amazing touch and insight on whatever he played. I'm particularly impressed with his Well-Tempered Klavier and, as said in some of the previous posts, with his Prokofiev.
An amazing disc, his Sofia recital from 1958 with an electrifying Pictures of an Exhibition.


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## Nagamori

dafnis said:


> wonderful pianist, with an amazing touch and insight on whatever he played. I'm particularly impressed with his Well-Tempered Klavier and, as said in some of the previous posts, with his Prokofiev.
> An amazing disc, his Sofia recital from 1958 with an electrifying Pictures of an Exhibition.


A favorite of mine too. There's a recording of his played in Moscow that's excellent also. Richter is a magnificent pianist... really, one of my top wishes in life would be to hear him play live. Thank god there's youtube...


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