Richter: Pianist of the Century (9 CD box set, FLAC)

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
Orchestra: Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Stanislaw Wislocki, Witold Rowicki, Herbert von Karajan, Kurt Sanderling
Composer: Robert Schumann, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sergey Prokofiev, Sergey Rachmaninov, Franz Joseph Haydn, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 9 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

Disc: 1
01. Marches (4) for piano, Op. 76: 2. G minor
02. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 1. Eintritt
03. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 2. Jäger auf der Lauer
04. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 3. Einsame Blumen
05. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 4. Verrufene Stelle
06. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 5. Freundliche Landschaft
07. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 6. Herberge
08. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 7. Vogel als Prophet
09. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 8. Jagdlied
10. Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), for piano, Op. 82: 9. Abschied
11. Fantasiestücke (8 Fantasy Pieces), for piano, Op. 12: 1. Des Abends
12. Fantasiestücke (8 Fantasy Pieces), for piano, Op. 12: 2. Aufschwung
13. Fantasiestücke (8 Fantasy Pieces), for piano, Op. 12: 3. Warum?
14. Fantasiestücke (8 Fantasy Pieces), for piano, Op. 12: 5. In der Nacht
15. Fantasiestücke (8 Fantasy Pieces), for piano, Op. 12: 7. Traumes-Wirren
16. Fantasiestücke (8 Fantasy Pieces), for piano, Op. 12: 8. Ende vom Lied

Disc: 2
01. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: 1. Allegro – Cadenza: Ludwig van Beethoven
02. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: 2. Romance
03. Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: 3. Rondo (Allegro assai) – Cadenza: Ludwig van Beethoven
04. Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55: 1. Allegro con brio
05. Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55: 2. Moderato ben accentuato
06. Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55: 3. Toccata
07. Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55: 4. Larghetto
08. Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55: 5. Vivo

Disc: 3
01. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18: 1. Moderato
02. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18: 2. Adagio sostenuto
03. Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18: 3. Allegro scherzando
04. Prelude for piano No.12 in C major, Op. 32/1
05. Prelude for piano No.13 in B flat major, Op. 32/2
06. Prelude for piano No.3 in B flat major, Op. 23/2
07. Prelude for piano No.5 in D major, Op. 23/4
08. Prelude for piano No.6 in G minor, Op. 23/5
09. Prelude for piano No.8 in C minor, Op. 23/7

Disc: 4
01. Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54: 1. Allegro affettuoso
02. Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54: 2. Intermezzo (Andantino grazioso)
03. Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54: 3. Allegro vivace
04. Introduction and Allegro appassionato, for piano & orchestra in G major, Op. 92
05. Novellette for piano in F major, Op. 21/1: No.1 in F (Markiert und kräftig)
06. Toccata for piano in C major, Op. 7: Allegro

Disc: 5
01. Keyboard Sonata in G minor, H. 16/44: 1. Moderato
02. Keyboard Sonata in G minor, H. 16/44: 2. Allegretto
03. Ballade for piano No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47, CT. 4
04. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: 2. Voiles
05. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: 3. Le vent dans la plaine
06. Préludes (12) for piano, Book I, L. 117: 5. Les collines d’Anacapri
07. Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major (‘War Sonata 3’), Op. 84: 1. Andante dolce – Allegro moderato – Andante – Andante dolce come prima
08. Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major (‘War Sonata 3’), Op. 84: 2. Andante sognando
09. Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major (‘War Sonata 3’), Op. 84: 3. Vivace – Allegro ben marcato – Andantino – Vivace

Disc: 6
01. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: 1. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito
02. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: 2. Andantino semplice – Prestissimo – Tempo I
03. Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: 3. Allegro con fuoco

Disc: 7
01. Rondo for piano & orchestra in B flat major, WoO 6
02. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: 1. Allegro con brio – Cadenza: Beethoven
03. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: 2. Largo
04. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37: 3. Rondo (Allegro)

Disc: 8
01. Polonaise-fantasy for piano No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61, CT. 156: Polonaise No.7 in A flat, Op.61 Polonaise-Fantaisie
02. Etude for piano No. 1 in C major, Op. 10/1, CT. 14
03. Etude for piano No. 12 in C minor (‘Revolutionary’), Op. 10/12, CT. 25
04. Ballade for piano No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52, CT. 5
05. Estampes, for piano, L. 100: 1. Pagodes
06. Estampes, for piano, L. 100: 2. Soirée dans Grenade
07. Estampes, for piano, L. 100: 3. Jardins sous la pluie
08. Piano Sonata No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 53: Allegro – Presto con allegrezza Meno vivo – Prestissimo

Disc: 9
01. Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 1 in C major (WTC I/1), BWV 846 (BC L80)
02. Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 4 in C sharp minor (WTC I/4), BWV 849 (BC L83)
03. Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 5 in D major (WTC I/5), BWV 850 (BC L84)
04. Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 6 in D minor (WTC I/6), BWV 851 (BC L85)
05. Prelude and Fugue, for keyboard No. 8 in E flat minor (WTC I/8), BWV 853 (BC L87)
06. Allegretto for piano in C minor, D. 915
07. Ländler (17) for piano (Deutsche Tänze), D. 366: Ländler in A major
08. Variations on the name ‘Abegg,’ for piano in F major, Op. 1
09. Prelude for piano No.23 in G sharp minor, Op. 32/12
10. Visions fugitives (20), for piano, Op. 22: 3. Allegretto
11. Visions fugitives (20), for piano, Op. 22: 9. Allegretto tranquillo

CAUTION: It might just be too good!

Caution is advised if one is considering listening to these recordings for the first time. Be advised that the playing starts with technical perfection and rises far above that at almost every moment. There are two hazards associated with this kind of playing. One is that it may spoil the experience of listening to lesser performances. Another is that you might get hopelessly addicted. Richter’s playing seems to plug directly into the limbic system and you may find yourself experiencing his own reaction to beauty sadness, and pain.

Other reviewers have commented that Richter studied with Prokofiev, and there are moments in a few pieces where I’ve found Prokofiev making sense for the first time ever. Prokofiev, it seems to me, had a fine sense of humor and was able to express this in his music better than just about any other composer. I’ve not heard it expressed quite so well since listening to David Bowie’s Peter and the Wolf. There’s a touch of humor in Beethoven’s Rondo in B flat, too. Alfred Brendel has been able to give this expression, too. But there is a kind of sweetness, too, that Richter finds in the piece that Brendel may not bring to it.

Similarly, there is a depth of feeling to the Rachmaninov that others may not express. Sure, there is grandiosity. Most players get that, but many fail to really get the depth of sadness and despair that is there, too. Richter does.

Something like half of the material in these nine discs is concerto material done with orchestras and it is worthwhile noting that the interplay between Richter and the orchestras is first rate. Neither overpowers the other. And the orchestras seem to take their expressive lead from Richter. The quality of this interplay somehow strikes me as being more profound than I am used to hearing.

Richter is not afraid of the space between notes. He uses it extremely well. In his playing of Debussy’s Les Voiles you really can see the sparkling water upon which the sailboats glide. And you have to resist the temptation to put on your sunglasses. Steve Gadd, I am told, tells drummers to play the spaces between notes. The same willingness to abide quietude and empty space is found throughout. As I write I am listening to Schumann’s Waldszenen and what I find remarkable about the playing is its rather extreme quietude that allows for a kind of sweetness to shine through. Richter plays the music where some others play the notes.

As with any boxed set that reaches back in time before 1960 there is the risk of recording problems. On the whole one can listen to this boxed set and rarely be bothered by recording problems. Much of it feels to me to be just about perfect. There is some high frequency roll off in some of the earliest recordings, probably due to subsequent noise reduction. This tends to sap some life from passages with energetic playing. It seems to affect disc 1 more than the other discs.

Another reviewer comments that the recording engineers wanted to scrap the recordings of Bach. And it takes about twenty seconds of listening to them to understand why. They are seriously marred by coughing. Not a little. Multiple people through the recorded material in disc 9. Some listeners cannot endure this. Richter, though, understood that he played well and insisted that the tapes be kept. What we mean by “well” is that if you really hear his playing though all that coughing, it may be like hearing Bach for the first time. And no other rendition will come close. It could ruin every other rendition of J.S Bach’s keyboard pieces. So you will be stuck. You cannot listen to the Richter version for all the coughing. And you cannot listen to any other version since it will not measure up.

If you choose to ignore the cautions, you will find some music here that might just cause you to wonder as I do whether “Pianist of the Century” subtitle that you dismissed as hyperbole could actually be an understatement. In any case, there is much to love here. It’s a screaming deal.