Sviatoslav Richter

[Bogey]

Uh-oh:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Edition-David-Oistrakh-Vol-1-Brahms-Sonates-Pour-Violin-Piano-LDC-278881-/120998330485?pt=UK_CDsDVDs_CDs_CDs_GL&hash=item1c2c100075

[Bogey]

Could this be Paris?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/David-OISTRAKH-Richter-BRAHMS-and-FRANCK-Violin-Sonatas-MELODIYA-OISTRACH-/160888631317?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item2575b5b015

[Holden]

Just heard this on Spotify. Recordings claim to be live from Moscow and Hungary circa 1958 - 61. Sounds quite good but can't find detailed information as they were only released about a month ago. I am assuming that this is re-released material but to hear Richter doing these live is wonderful.




http://www.amazon.com/Classical-Treasures-Composer-Series-Beethoven/dp/B00BTLV3L4

[George]

I just received this for review from MusicWeb.



According to Presto,
Recorded September 24 1972 [D960], June 10 1956, June 10-11 1962. Previously available as PR254032 [1994], CDM78726/7 [1993]

The booklet does not specify which of the two years (56/62) corresponds to which piece of music, and also does not say where the recordings were made. The essay does say, very vaguely, that he often played live in Prague, without confirming that he did so in this case.

Have you or anyone else compared the sound on this SACD to the older Praga issues of the same material?

[George]

Saw this great quote today and wanted to share it:

Everyone was talking about Richter. Well, I thought, maybe I should listen to this Richter. So I went to one of his concerts. He didn't play badly at all: he was a good craftsman, everything was professionally done. But it really wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Then at some point I noticed my eyes growing moist: tears began rolling down my cheeks, and my heart grew all constricted.

- Arthur Rubinstein

[Bogey]

Saw this great quote today and wanted to share it:

Good 'un, buddy.

[Mookalafalas]

Hi, I just got this set and am a little confused about it.
[asin]B00GYHSYW4[/asin]

   I'm a pretty recent Richter convert, partly as a result of reading through this thread.  I picked up the box above, and if anyone else has it, perhaps they could help me understand the material a bit more?
    Most of the material is 8os and 90s.  However, a half dozen or so of the discs are from the 50s and early 60s, and most (but not all) of those are listed as having been recorded for DG.  Now DG has their box of 9 SR discs, which is supposed to be all their stuff ("Complete DG Recordings"), and yet a quick comparison shows most of these are different recordings or different dates...and it would seem a bit weird (to me anyway) if Decca would just cannibalize most of the DG box....
    Also, is the most of the other material here a re-release of Decca's "The Master" series? If anyone could shed any light on these questions for me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[George]

Hi, I just got this set and am a little confused about it.
[asin]B00GYHSYW4[/asin]

   I'm a pretty recent Richter convert, partly as a result of reading through this thread.  I picked up the box above, and if anyone else has it, perhaps they could help me understand the material a bit more?
    Most of the material is 8os and 90s.  However, a half dozen or so of the discs are from the 50s and early 60s, and most (but not all) of those are listed as having been recorded for DG.  Now DG has their box of 9 SR discs, which is supposed to be all their stuff ("Complete DG Recordings"), and yet a quick comparison shows most of these are different recordings or different dates...and it would seem a bit weird (to me anyway) if Decca would just cannibalize most of the DG box....
    Also, is the most of the other material here a re-release of Decca's "The Master" series? If anyone could shed any light on these questions for me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

If you can be specific about it's contents, we can confirm.

I assume it's the Master CDs plus the DG box.

[Mookalafalas]

First of all, I took that link from the UK amazon, but somehow it redirects to the US one, and the price is about 250% higher!

  This link gives the composer info, but not the dates. I will try to find a better source:
http://www.universalmusic.it/classica/news/newsdet.php?idn=5432

Here is the UK amazon link. Just 48 Pounds, and that's before subtracting the VAT tax if you are out of the EU area...for 33 discs, a very nice price, IMO
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Solo-Recordings-Richter-S/dp/B00GYHSYW4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392221386&sr=8-1&keywords=richter+solo+recordings

OK, here's the content, but again, without dates, so may not be that useful:
BACH
English Suites No. 3-6
French Suites No. 2-6
Toccatas BWV 913, 916
Fantasia BWV 906
Italian Concerto BWV 971
French Overture BWV 831
Duetto I-IV BWV 802, BWV 803- 805

BEETHOVEN
Sonatas No. 9, 11, 12, 18-20, 22, 23, 27, 28, 30-32
Variazioni su un tema di Diabelli

BRAHMS
Sonatas Nos. 1, 2
Variations on a Theme by Paganini
Fantasien, Op. 116
Klavierstücke, Op. 76, 118, 119

CHOPIN
Études from Op. 10, 25
Polonaises Nos. 1, 4
Préludes from Op. 28
Barcarolle Op. 60
Nocturne No.4 Op. 15 No. 1
Polonaise-Fantaisie
Ballade No. 4 Op. 52

LISZT
Valse oubliée No. 1, 2
Sonata S. 178
Polonaise No. 2 S. 223 No. 2
Scherzo S. 153
Trübe Wolken, S. 199
Consolation, S. 172 No. 6
Hungarian Rhapsody S. 242 No. 17
Klavierstück S. 193
Mephisto Polka, S. 217
Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139
From Études de concert, S. 144, 145

HAYDN
Sonatas Hob. XVI:44, 40, 41, 48, 52, 32, 24, 46, 2, 24, 52

WEBER
Sonata n. 3

MOZART
Sonata KV 457, K. 282, 545 "Sonata facile", K. 310
Sonata in F, KV 280
Fantasia KV 475
Sonata KV 457, K. 282, 545 "Sonata facile", K. 310

SHOSTAKOVICH
24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

SCHUBERT
Sonata D. 894, 575, 840
Moment musical D 780 No. 1
Impromptu D 899 No. 2, 4
Allegretto D 915
From 17 Ländler, D 366
Allegretto D 915

SCHUMANN
March Op. 76 No. 2
Waldszenen Op. 82
Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
Novellette Op. 21 No. 1
Toccata Op. 7
4 Fugues, Op. 72
March Op. 76 No. 2
Blumenstück, Op. 19
Nachtstücke, Op. 23
Theme and Variations on the name Abegg, Op. 1
Theme: Animato – Var. I-III
Fantasia, Op. 17
Concert Studies on Caprices by Paganini

SCRIABIN
Poème-Nocturne, Op. 61
2 Danses, Op. 73
Vers la flamme, Op. 72
Fantasy, Op. 28
Piano Sonata No. 5

PROKOFIEV
Sonata No. 2, 4, 6, 8
Légende, Op. 12 No. 6
Visions fugitives, Op. 22
From Four Pieces, Op. 32
Pieces from Cinderella

HAYDN
Piano Sonata Hob. XVI:44

CHOPIN
3 Ballades No. 3

DEBUSSY
From Préludes pour piano
Estampes

RACHMANINOV
Prelude No. 23 Op. 32 No. 12
23 Preludes Op. 32 No. 13
6 Preludes

STRAVINSKY
Piano-Rag-Music

SHOSTAKOVICH
Prelude & Fugue

WEBERN
Variations, Op. 27

BARTÓK
3 Burlesques

SZYMANOWSKI
From Metopes, Op. 29

HINDEMITH
Suite "1922"

MUSSORGSKY
Pictures at an exhibition

    It is 12:30AM here in Taiwan, so I am going to bed. I have the box, with all the info. I can put up more later. Possibly the data was just put in sloppily--several things from the 50s and 60s are listed as DDD, which obviously is not correct...

[Cosi bel do]

I've got this set. It contains all DG solo recordings + all Decca "Richter the Master" edition, but it lacks a few other Philips recordings. Alas.

[Pat B]

it would seem a bit weird (to me anyway) if Decca would just cannibalize most of the DG box....

The DG "Pianist of the Century" box has 4 discs of solo material. Each disc is a reproduction of the original LP, so the solo material is really 3 CDs' worth in a set that fills up each disc. The other 5 DG discs are with orchestra and therefore not in the Decca "Solo Recordings" box.

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Hi, I just got this set and am a little confused about it.

   I'm a pretty recent Richter convert, partly as a result of reading through this thread.  I picked up the box above, and if anyone else has it, perhaps they could help me understand the material a bit more?
    Most of the material is 8os and 90s.  However, a half dozen or so of the discs are from the 50s and early 60s, and most (but not all) of those are listed as having been recorded for DG.  Now DG has their box of 9 SR discs, which is supposed to be all their stuff ("Complete DG Recordings"), and yet a quick comparison shows most of these are different recordings or different dates...and it would seem a bit weird (to me anyway) if Decca would just cannibalize most of the DG box....
    Also, is the most of the other material here a re-release of Decca's "The Master" series? If anyone could shed any light on these questions for me, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

It appears to be a mix of everything from UMG, from the earliest DG recordings to the later Philips and Decca recordings. The solo stuff anyway.

There's even some Decca in this box which hasn't been reissued since its initial release. It was a six-disc mini-edition that was almost contemporaneous with Philips's Authorized Edition (but predated it a tad). It even overlapped repertoire with Philips's AE in that the two Brahms sonatas were present in both Editions (though different performances of course). Both Editions' Brahms sonatas are in this box. Even a few of the Schumann pieces overlapped.



[asin]B00000E54P[/asin]

[Mookalafalas]

thanks for the information, guys. That's all really helpful. I went back and rechecked some of the stuff I had thought didn't sync up in my comparisons last night, and it turns out the problem is just that I was a careless idiot.  The discs are in no obvious order, either in terms of dates or content, and the discs contents and recording material data (dates, locations, etc) are in different places in the booklet. You have to be careful when doing comparisons, but I wasn't. Sorry to ask you for info I should have been able to find by myself. 
   All that said, for someone starting out pretty fresh, it's a very nice box, especially for that cheap UK price.  I've just been playing the historical stuff so far, and I feel like a very lucky man to have this .  Hopefully I'll agree with Mandryka with regards to the later recordings ("more controlled...but intense" rather than some comments I've seen other places ("Spotty...old and tired" etc.). 

[Pat B]

December 18, 1960. New York. Philharmonic Hall. Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic.
Liszt: Concerto No. 2 in A;
Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 in b flat minor.

Thanks -- I hadn't yet found that section of trovar.com. A further google located this blog post quoting Nathan Milstein.

That concert doesn't seem to get much discussion, and the photo suggests that the rehearsals did not go well. So I'm not shocked by the criticism of that particular performance. I can't agree that Richter was "not at all a passionate pianist" though. I'll listen to Jeux d'eau this afternoon.

I also found this quote from Bernstein about Richter.

[Bogey]

Thanks -- I hadn't yet found that section of trovar.com. A further google located this blog post quoting Nathan Milstein.

That concert doesn't seem to get much discussion, and the photo suggests that the rehearsals did not go well. So I'm not shocked by the criticism of that particular performance. I can't agree that Richter was "not at all a passionate pianist" though. I'll listen to Jeux d'eau this afternoon.

I also found this quote from Bernstein about Richter.

Great quote!

[Pim]

There is so much of Richter, in various combinations and editions, that perhaps I'm allowed to ask a newbie type of question.
What combination of boxes would make for a good overall collection of Richter without a lot of duplication?
Or, alternatively, what are the absolutely essential recordings (say top 10) to get?
Thanks
Pim

[George]

There is so much of Richter, in various combinations and editions, that perhaps I'm allowed to ask a newbie type of question.
What combination of boxes would make for a good overall collection of Richter without a lot of duplication?
Or, alternatively, what are the absolutely essential recordings (say top 10) to get?
Thanks
Pim

I say the EMI and the DG boxes.

[Holden]

What about Richter in Prague?

[Octave]

What about Richter in Prague?

We are praying for this one to return to affordable print.

Pim, there's no way I can weigh in as a Richter authority, but to supplement the EMI/DG recommendations, there are several discs on the associated Regis/Alto/Musical Concepts labels that would probably be great to have, and are frequently cheap.  A few discs of Schubert, a disc of Schumann.  Maybe the Rachmaninov disc too.

[Pat B]

Like Octave I can't claim to be an authority, but I would suggest these:

[asin]B00005OLD9[/asin]Richter "Rediscovered" - the current new price is high but those used prices are great

[asin]B009RXGC08[/asin]Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, and more on Melodiya

Fair warning: all of the above are live recordings from the 1950s and 1960s. The sound quality is not up to modern standards. But it's good enough for me, with these performances.

The EMI (now Warner) and DG sets are both great values and have good sound by Richter standards, but I think the performances I mentioned are more outstanding. The Melodiya Beethoven disc (also available separately) is the one that really hooked me.

There are different ways to do it but I'm trying to keep it simple.