Product Description

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: RICHTER,SVIATOSLAV
Title: SOFIA RECITAL-1958
Street Release Date: 03/13/2001
Domestic
Genre: CLASSICAL ARTISTS

Track Listing

1. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Promenade
2. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement I, Gnomus
3. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement I, Promenade
4. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement II, Il Vecchio Castello - Promenade/The Old Castle
5. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement III, Tuileries
6. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement IV, Bydlo
7. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement IV, Promenade
8. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement V, Ballet Of The Chickens In Their Shells
9. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement VI, Samuel Goldnberg Und Schmuyle
10. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement VI, Promenade
11. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement VII, Limoges: Le Marché - The Market Place At Limoges
12. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement VIII, Catacombae: Sepulchrum Romanum
13. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement IX, La Cabane Sur Des Pattes De Poule - The Hut On Fowl's Legs
14. Pictures at an Exhibition (Kartinki s vïstavski), for piano: Movement X, La Grande Porte De Kiev - The Great Gate Of Kiev
15. Moment musical for piano in C major, D. 780/1 (Op. 94/1)
16. Impromptu for piano in E flat major, D. 899/2 (Op. 90/2)
17. Impromptu for piano in A flat major, D. 899/4 (Op. 90/4)
18. Etude for piano No. 3 in E major, Op. 10/3, CT. 16
19. Valse oubliée, for piano No. 1, S. 215/1 (LW A311/1)
20. Valse oubliée, for piano No. 2, S. 215/2 (LW A311/2)
21. La chasse, etude for piano (Transcendental Paganini Etude No. 5), S. 140/5 (LW A52/2)
22. Harmonies du soir, for piano (Transcendental Etude No. 11), S. 139/11 (LW A172/11)
23. Prelude for piano No.23 in G sharp minor, Op. 32/12

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #90157 in Music
• Brand: RICHTER,SVIATOSLAV
• Released on: 2001-03-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Definitive recording, greatly improved sound
This legendary recording captures Sviatoslav Richter in a live recital in Sofia in 1958. I first heard it on the DG "Panorama" double CD of selections of Mussorgsky's works. The sound was quite poor: the piano was tinny, there was noticeable surface noise that came and went, and the dynamic range was compressed and lacked depth. Still, the performance was so compelling that I found myself listening to it over and over again. Even after buying the Byron Janis recording on Mercury with much better sound, I missed the intensity and power of Richter's performance.

So when this newly remastered version became available, I immediately bought it, hoping that it would be an improvement. The sound of this new remastering is what this performance has deserved all along. The surface noise is almost totally gone, and the sound of the piano is much more natural, without the dry, compressed sound of the previous version. The audience is still noisy, with coughs throughout, but you get used to it after a couple listenings. The same is true of the infamous fluffed note in the opening; it's there, it's grating the first few times, then it almost takes on a certain charm all its own.

But the real power of this recording is the incredible performance by one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Some have said that this is the greatest piano recording ever made of anything, period. While that is perhaps an overstatement, it's certainly not far from the truth. This is an essential recording, not just because it's the definitive recording of "Pictures", but because of the power and beauty of Richter's artistry. I still enjoy the Janis recording with its clean sound and accomplished playing, but Richter's total involvement with the music surpasses Janis and all others.

My only complaint is that while the notes include a short biography of Richter, there's nothing about the recital itself, nor are there any comments about the process used in this latest remastering. This is an unfortunate oversight, especially when Philips could have justifiably used this as a stunning example of their newest remastering techniques.

A Slice of History, Recorded for the Ages
Sofia, Bulgaria. February, 1958. There's a nasty cold going round. Communism's grayness is everywhere. People can barely afford to attend a concert, even at Warsaw Pact prices. But they come to hear a Ukrainian pianist of German extraction play a demanding program. And someone sets up a monophonic tape recorder. The microphone isn't as close to the piano as it ought to be.

Western civilization has lived now for forty-odd years with this recording of Moussorgsky's "Pictures." Some of us have auditioned seemingly countless other performances. But this is the one we always come back to. This is the ultimate, warts and all.

The first time it was released on CD, I was happy to see that the remainder of the concert had been added (the old Columbia LP contained only the "Pictures"). It's now chock full of shorter pieces, many thrice-familiar and a couple less so, all well done. Now we have 73 minutes of music.

Why do we all so cheerfully tolerate the below-par sound, the coughing, and the gaffs? Because the overall conception of the work, as realized by Richter, is so compelling. If you only know the "Pictures" from the orchestrated version, it's time for you to buy and get to know the original piano version. And this is the best one out there. Allow yourself to be swept away.

Superb in every way
This is one of the greatest discs in the catalogue for sure. Richter turns in the standard by which all other Pictures will be measured, and provides the proof that it is completely unneccessary and superficial to make any additions to the piece (Horowitz, anyone?). The Schubert is fantastic, just as the tumultuous Chopin etude and the capricious Liszt waltzes. There's of course also Richter's legendary Feux Follets, played at almost impossible speed but still with such miraculous accuracy! The Harmonies du Soir etude is also breathtaking, yet here it is mainly poetry and concentration that Richter shows. And how melancholic is the closing Rachmaninov prelude! Also, the transfer is significantly better than the original issue. Not to be missed!