Sviatoslav Richter
Pianist Sviatoslav Richter was one amazing artist; I actually did not appreciate him adequately when he was still living. He died in 1997. He actually did not perform much in the US, after an incident in New York City involving some anti-soviet protestors who showed up at one of his concerts.
For me, there is no doubt that – as a musician – he was a world-class person
On this DVD we get to hear the following:
Beethoven:
- Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1
- Piano Sonata No. 7 in D major, Op. 10 No. 3
- Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major, Op. 14 No. 1
- Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26 ‘March Funebre’
- Bagatelles (6), Op. 126: No. 1
Chopin:
- Polonaise No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61 ‘Polonaise-fantaisie’
- Waltz No. 4 in F major ‘Grande Valse Brillante’, Op. 34 No. 3
- Waltz No. 13 in D flat major, Op. 70 No. 3
- Mazurka No. 41 in C sharp minor, Op. 63 No. 3
- Mazurka No. 44 in C major, Op. 67 No. 3
- Mazurka No. 48 in F major, Op. 68 No. 3
- Mazurka in A minor, Op..posth.
- Étude Op. 25 No. 7 in C sharp minor
- Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54
Performed by Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
Here is Sviatoslav Richter playing Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op. 2, no. 1
And here is Richter in Beethoven’s sonata “Appassionata”, op 57;
Note the much slower tempo of the opening movement than we are used to with pianists such as Barenboim, or Perahia! I actually like this a lot, because it makes the music so much more dramatic.
Tags: Sviatoslav Richter, Beethoven, Chopin