Author: Richter, Sviatoslav

Format: Import

Release Date: 2003-08-19

Details: Sviatoslav Richter was a pianistic giant, one of the most admired of a bumper crop of Russian pianists who emerged in the wake of World War II. His concert appearances in the US were not as plentiful as they might have been, due to his own idiosyncrasies and the vagaries of the Cold War. It must be said that in his live performances (of which many are available on disc) he could be uneven, occasionally overplaying and crushing the music in the heat of the moment. These Schumann performances are all the more astonishing, then, for their poised musicianship as much as for Richter's signature technical prowess. The latter is of course much in evidence in the all-but-insane tempo for the coda of the second movement of the Fantasy and the finale of "Fassingschwank." But what lingers even more in this listener's ear is Richter's controlled mastery in shaping the arching melodic lines of the opening and closing movements of the Fantasy, some of Schumann's most potentially beautiful music, and the unexpected charm and wit of the dozen tiny dances that comprehend "Butterflies." The sound is not state-of-the-art by today's standards, but perfectly acceptable.

UPC: 724357523325

EAN: 0724357523325

Languages: English

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood