Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Sviatoslav Richter :: Beethoven: Last Three Sonatas 30 31 & 32

Revelation brings out the same January 12, 1975, Op. 111 issued by Music & Arts in a brighter yet hissier transfer. Sviatoslav Richter dives headfirst into the opening movement, safety last, looking Beethoven's "Allegro con brio ed appassionato" straight in the eye (what a tempo!), and generates both high tension and repose in the sublime Arietta as well as in Op. 109's variation movement. The slightly distanced miking in an October 10, 1965, Op. 110 is kinder to Richter's metrical shifts and accentuation than the clangy version from the same year on Praga. The pianist still pounds out the left-hand quavers in the Klagender Gesang, in contrast to his more graceful Philips and Live Classics traversals a quarter century later. A worthy but not indispensable addition to Richter's colossal discography. --Jed Distler