No other classical pianist has such an extensive discography as Sviatoslav
Richter (1915-1997). Live recordings — authorized and unauthorized — make up
the bulk. It seems that the atmosphere of the live event and the presence of
an audience inspired him to produce some of his best recordings. Leslie
Gerber’s Parnassus Records has made a substantial contribution to the
pianist’s discography with several CD releases, including a series entitled
‘Richter in the Fifties’ which runs to several volumes. This DVD of Schumann
and Russian composers follows another in the same series devoted to
Beethoven and Chopin and released two years ago.
The DVD here features excerpts from three concerts, the earliest being
from 10 October 1976. I have been familiar with this one for several years,
and the Beethoven and Chopin works, which complete the recital, are on the
other Parnassus DVD I mentioned. Although no venue details are given, I
identify it as being from the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.
Included here is the Schumann
Faschingsschwank aus Wien, op.26 and
two Debussy and one Rachmaninov prelude. Debussy is named an ‘honorary
Russian’ in the track-listing. These items have previously been issued on a
Music and Arts set (CD 775).
I have always been intrigued as to why Richter appears in a suit and tie
in the Debussy and Rachmaninov pieces, and wears a black jacket and bow tie
in the Schumann. Maybe we’ll never know. What is obvious though is that he
is on absolute top form. Schumann’s
Faschingsschwank aus Wien is
delivered with brilliance, energy and drive. It’s certainly the most
compelling version of this delightful work that I have ever heard. It will
be noticed that Richter plays from memory. Sometime in the late seventies he
started playing his recitals from the score. Maybe his memory had become
less reliable. There was another reason — and a pragmatic one at that. He
felt that by being less reliant on his memory he could expand considerably
his already enormous repertoire. I read somewhere that he has stated that by
using the music he could learn several Haydn sonatas, whereas he would be
restricted to one if he had had to memorize it.
The remaining Schumann works were recorded on 13 December 1985. Again no
venue details are given, but I am pretty certain that this is from a concert
given at the Pushkin Museum, Moscow. Irina Antonova, the Director of the
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow for 52 years, from 1961 to 2013, is
the page turner in the
Blumenstück, Op. 19. Imbued with warmth and
lyricism, this is an eloquent realization. The pianist Lyudmila Berlinskaya
joins Richter for the selections from the
Bilder aus Osten, op.66.
The three
Paganini Etudes and the
Toccata, Op. 7 are
brilliantly executed. The four Fugues, Op. 72 are compositions I am not at
all familiar with and, having listened to them several times, they don’t
particularly impress me. Nevertheless, Richter teases out the polyphonic
strands with clarity and definition.
My research tells me that the Tchaikovsky/Rachmaninov programme (4 January
1982) was a Soviet TV broadcast, and has been issued on CD in Japan (Nippon
Crown CRCB 7005/6). I couldn’t establish where the concert took place, but
it’s a pretty imposing venue. Richter did a great deal to promote more ‘off
the beaten track’ music. These sadly neglected Tchaikovsky pieces are given
the same attention to detail that he brings to the larger musical canvasses.
He seem to get right to the heart of these miniatures, tapping into their
emotional content.
These fine restorations have been carried out by Ricardo Pineda, in what
is a labour of love for Parnassus. Richter fans like myself, and those
looking for a visual record of this great artist, will want this DVD. Let’s
hope there’s more to come.
Stephen Greenbank
Track-listing
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival in Vienna), op.26*
Blumenstück, op.19
Bilder aus Osten, op.66**:-
no.5 in F minor
no.6 in B flat minor
Concert Etudes (6) after Paganini caprices, op.10:-
no.4 in C minor
no.5 in B minor
no.6 in E minor
4 Fugues , op.72
Toccata in C major, op.7
rec. 13 December 1985; 10 October 1976*
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
The Seasons, op.37b:-
V May: Starlit Nights
VI June: Barcarolle
18 Morceaux, op.72:-
no.12 L'espiegle
no.15 Un poco di Chopin
6 Morceaux, op.51:-
no.3 Menuetto-scherzando
no.1 Valse de salon in A flat major
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1875-1943)
Moments musicaux, op.16:-
no.6 in D major
Morceaux de Fantasie, op.3:-
no.3 Melodie
no.4 Polichinelle
rec. 4 January 1982
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Preludes, Book 1:-
no.3 Le vent dans la plaine (The wind on the plain)
Preludes, Book 2:-
no.8 Ondine
Sergei RACHMANINOV
Prelude, op.32, No. 12
rec. 10 October 1976
