ONE OF THE GREATEST PIANISTS: TECHNICALLY ASTOUNDING, EMOTIO
RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 02/13/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Five Amazing Stars!! I would give it SIX but...(see my note). Sviatoslav Richter was simply in a class attained by few classical pianists. A contemporary of Vladimir Horowitz, he was one of the best there ever was!! And, as shown on this CD recorded between ages 40 and 50, he was a thorough-going perfectionist who was demanding: demanding of himself, of his instrument, and of his audiences. This CD captures him playing Liszt like his life depended on it. Technically astounding and emotionally powerful, he didn't let one extreme over take the other, but maintains a balance that simultaneously dazzles us and touches our sensibilities. Certainly not an easy task for any artist, but perfect for any pianist tackling the complexities of Liszt, who was arguably regarded by many as perhaps the world's best pianist himself. Imagine playing something he composed!
Recorded in three locations spanning the years 1956 to 1965, he was in his prime and playing his "A" game when these recordings were made. And, of course, Liszt is no easy task for any pianist. Indeed, I use Liszt as a guage of a pianist's degree of accomplishment, there is simply no place to hide. Mortals don't rush in to a Liszt performance without some pause. Richter is AWESOME throughout.
The Piece De Resistance is the 1965 Carnegie Hall recording of Liszt's B Minor Sonata and it is BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful. Beyond the beauty, some of the passages are absolutely jaw dropping, nearing the edge of physical fingering possibility, as Liszt probably intended. Of the Transcendental Etudes/S.139, my favorites are an absolutely scorching read of No 2 (Molto vivace), with some of the bass notes lost in the recordings shortcomings, and a wonderfully heroic read of No. 5 (Feux follets), and No 8 (Wilde Jagd) with it's searing arpeggio. Highly Recommended with a caution. Five Stars.
(Notes:
*The recording quality is good but not great, Indeed it cries out for remastering in the future. There is one jump from a vinyl disk imperfection in one place and some audible noise in other places, requiring equalizer adjustments. The bass notes are muddled at times. Also some pieces end abruptly. Some of the audience coughing makes it tough on the listener but, hang in there, Richter's power passages more than make up for the bad mike placement. These performances cry out to be heard. These days the mike is placed to nullify audience noise and enhance the music. No wonder Keith Jarrett is so hard on his audiences. LOL.
* UPDATE: in the 12 months of my ownership, this CD has never left it's rotation in my 5 CD changer and is played first each morning of every day. With Ahmad Jamal and Elis Regina getting similar special treatment, only two CD slots are available for new music.)
"
One of the last giant pianists in Liszt's repertoire!
Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 08/21/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"To play Listz demands from you several fundamental aspects; a total domain of the breadth into the phrasing, plain conviction of the meaning of the thematic material beneath the score and additionally, an evilness technique, a sense of the organic flow of the piece. To be true just a few pianists may sustain for instance the overall attention of the listener playing a particular piece of The years of pilgrimage, for instance.
In this sense we might consider Richter as one of the most distinguished interpreters of Liszt during the sixties and one of the most important in the seventies, because fortunately several emblematic pianists emerged in the seventies: Bruno Rigutto, Lazar Berman, Mijail Rudy, apart of the expected reappear of Erwin Nyireghihazi in 1973.
Sviatoslav Richter was gifted of that ability to create atmospheres, aspect nothing to easy to achieve, because there are so many details to take into account at the meantime that it turns a very heavy burden to sustain.
Nevertheless he did it, and if he has not entirely included among the great Lisztian pianists, he has earned a significant place, since the last two decades.
One of the most difficult barriers to surpass in the case of Richter has to do with his ambitious repertoire that barely in four decades established by himself many achievements in which concerns privileged composers. From Tchaikovsky to Cesar Franck, on one hand; but his Schubert (Sonata D. 960)and his Schumann (Búnte blatter) literally renovated the soul of the flaming performer according the tradition established by Sigismund Thalberg, Anton Rubinstein or Adolf von Henselt. He was by far, much more introspective than his homologous Horowitz, but his repertoire was infinitely major, as well as his abstraction capacity.
So that's the reason why I don't even hesitate just a blink, at the moment to recommend you this special compilation of Liszt' s works. These performances possess vigor, audacious and mercurial expression.
"
Some hopefully useful information on this recording
Discophage | France | 08/10/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I do not have and have not heard this particular CD, yet let me give you some info which I hope will be useful in making your purchase decision. The live recordings of the Sonata and of Funérailles are the same ones that were published in 1988 by Philips in their short-lived Legendary Classics series (along with the flashy and hollow Hungarian Fantasia for piano and orchestra: Sviatoslav Richter plays Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, Funérailles, Hungarian Fantasy), although the Sonata was then - wrongly - labelled as "Budapest 1960". Paul Geffen's marvellous and accurate discography (available on the net) has set the record straight. Sonically, the Philips was a disaster - and reading the reviews of this reissue, I suspect it hasn't changed much on this Palexa release. Geffen has established that it first came out on a "Private Recording" LP, was subsequently picked up by Melodiya, still on LP (and as late as 1986) and from there licensed to Philips. Not only was the recorded sound very distant (even sounding like the transfer of an old 78rpm in Funérailles), with lots left-hand details blurred and turned into mere filling rumble, but obviously it had been duplicated directly from the LP, surface scratches and all.
Interpretively Funérailles got a reading of tremendous dramatic power and intensity, and likewise the Sonata was superb. The most remarkable feature of Richter's interpretation lies in his taste for extremes of tempo - very slow and ominous introduction, very spacious "Andante sostenuto" followed by "Quasi adagio" section (11:22 - it was track 2 on the Philips release), but on the other hand brisk phrasing of the second, lyrical theme at 5:33, dynamic fugato (20:03 or track 3), presto and prestissimo section (25:39 or track 3 at 5:36) on the brink of the abyss. All that would make for an indispensable disc if the sound was anything close to acceptable, and if there wasn't another Richter recording of the same piece in much better sound. As things are, there are two, dating from the around the same time. In 1994 Philips again published in their mammoth series called "Richter - the authorized recordings", a live concert from Livorno, Italy, recorded on November 21, 1966 (Richter: The Authorised Recordings: Chopin: Etudes, Preludes, and Other Pieces / Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, Transcendental Etudes, and Other Pieces). I haven't heard it, but I have read no comments about deficient sonics, and interpretively I suspect that it is good, if the concert given a few months earlier (June 21) in Aldeburgh (Benjamin Britten's Festival) is to give any clue. This one - which I have heard - has been available from various "bootleg" Italian labels, such as AS Disc, Nuova Era and Memories, as well as on Music & Arts CD-760 - but these releases are carefully to be avoided: on AS Disc 342, Memories HR 4218 and Nuova Era 013.6340 (all which I have owned) it is duplicated a half-tone too fast (and implicitly sold as a different version, especially by AS Disc who has published it on three different CDs!), and on Music & Arts it is labeled as "Florence, 1971".
On the other hand, I have that June 1966 version in a pitch-right duplication and in very acceptable sound, again on Music and Arts CD-600, Richter: From 1966 Aldeburgh Festival (and, given the overall excellence of the series, I surmise that the BBC Legends release is also fine, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt). Interpretively, it is very close indeed to the Carnegie Hall 1965 version presented on the present Palexa disc - granted, it has a few more digital slips, perhaps a touch less fire (though it is not really wanting either in that register) - and it comes in MUCH better sound. So I suggest to favor this recording over the present Carnegie Hall 1965, which should be reserved to the die-hard Richterite who insists on owning every crump left by his God..
So maybe the selection of Transcendantal Etudes are the main reason to buy this disc. I am a bit puzzled though about the indication that they were recorded in Moscow in 1956, as Geffen doesn't mention such a recording at such a date. Maybe it is that this recordings surfaced since Geffen's last update. Or maybe it is actually the recording Geffen indicates as dating from 1946, first published on a Bianco e Nero CD. If such is the case, there are other and later versions by Richter in presumably much better sound, including 1,2,3,5,11 (but not 7 & 8) stupendously played on June 10, 1956 in Prague (available on Praga Svjatoslav Richter in Prague: Franz Liszt, Maurice Ravel), and 1,2,3,5,7,8,10,11 - the same selection as here - from Cologne, March 10 1988 in the same Philips "Authorized recordings" set which has the Sonata.
"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1