Richter in Spoleto 1967

It's been a long time coming, but here finally is Sviatoslav Richter's great 1967 Spoleto Festival recital, previously available only on two Vox Turnabout LP's. This is great Richter, in mostly top form at a bargain basement price.The recital opens with the sound of Richter's feet crossing the floorboards of the recital stage as he approaches the piano bench, then a burst of applause that the pianist cuts short as he launches into Haydn's sonata no. 37 (Hob. XVI no. 22), an opening salvo that bristles with energy and imagination. This is one of a handful of Haydn sonatas that Richter played and one of at least two great performances that I'm aware of (the other:  Richter plays Haydn, Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann, & Rachmaninov (BBC) ). Next are two powerful Schumann Noveletten that practically jump out of the piano. Richter's playing here is reminiscent of his classic 1958 Sofia recital where his approach to Schubert and Liszt are particularly explosive ( The Sofia Recital 1958 ). Less satisfactory, however, is Richter's treatment of Chopin's G minor ballade which follows. Here Richter starts out way too slowly, then gradually accelerates into overdrive, an approach that doesn't work well, especially as the coda turns rather messy. While the G minor ballade is notoriously difficult to bring off (Horowitz recorded it several times and even he never seemed to get it quite right), it turns out to be the only weak point in this otherwise brilliant recital.The remainder of the disc is taken up by the second book of Debussy's preludes followed by an encore, "La serenade interrompue" from the first book. My acquaintance with these readings dates back to the original Turnabout LP's which I purchased in the 1970's, and despite having surveyed numerous recordings from others in the interim, this is the greatest performance of this music I've ever heard. Only one other recording is in the same category, and it comes from Richter himself in the recently released 14 cd set:  Richter in Hungary . Richter's interpretations are at once riveting and transcendent, and project an almost mystical understanding of each prelude. Even the faint sound of a church bell pealing in the background of the first prelude adds to the atmosphere. My only quibble is that the preludes were recorded at a much lower level than the rest of the recital, and in mono too, and while the producers acknowledged that "where original tapes were not available, alternate sources were employed" they didn't adequately compensate for this. They did, however, eliminate the intrusive sound of a door slamming in the recital hall that marred the lovely "Bruyeres" on the original LP. I was always amazed that Richter was able to maintain his concentration after this; perhaps he was in the same trance-like state that his playing must have induced in the audience.One of the Turnabout LP's on which this recital originally appeared also included an incredible performance of Prokofiev's seventh sonata. It's unclear whether this was part of the Spoleto recital and perhaps omitted on this release due to space limitations, or if it derived from another source.This is an essential release; highest recommendation!

The Haydn Hob XVI:22 is one of the two available on CDs - the other one is the BBC Legend. It is well played. The two Schumann Noveletten are of the same level as several of other SR recordings of the these works, including DGG and Olympia.The Chopin Ballade No.1, in my humble opinion, is not one of Richter's successful live captures. It was sluggish, seemed rusty in certain passages. His earlier version recorded in Bucharest, Feb 26,1960 (BMG/Melodiya) was a far superior performance. The second half of the Spoleto concert got better: in the Debussy Preludes Book 2, Richter seemed to be more focused. The playing was faultless and he was inspired. Interestingly, at the beginning of the Debussy, you can hear him walking on stage, his steps were accompanied by distant church bells that continued after the first few bars in Brouillards - charming and atmospheric!BBC Legend series issued Richter's Debussy Book 2 performed in Maltings, Snape,16 June 1967. The BBC has fuller piano sound albeit there were unwanted applauses after "General Lavine"

In the early 1970s, Vox/Turnabout issued this superb piano recital on LP. It left a big impact on me, particularly the dynamism combined with sensitive poetry which characterizes Sviatoslav Richter at his best. His rendition of the Haydn E Major Sonata is very convincing. Richter's rendering of the two Schumann Novelettes has never failed to blow me away, he knows how to wind up the rhythmic and harmonic tension without distorting the music's flow. The Chopin G Minor Ballade remains arguably the most impactful I've ever heard. The Debussy Preludes are played in a manner which is mesmerizing, spellbinding, and inspirational.As for the audio quality, audio mastering for this CD release is first-rate. Compared with the so-so Vox/Turnabout LP release, this CD issue reproduces greater depth and intensity in reproducing the subtle nuances of Richter's piano style and fairly wide dynamic range. For the most part, audience noises are not intrusive other than their enthusiastic applause before and after selections. It's obvious that the producers did not cut corners in the mastering to CD. In short, this is a very highly recommended piano recital.

This was recorded in 1967. The sound quality is very poor & the piano sounds quite "tinny", spurious resonances all over the place, but the quality of the music is non plus ultra. The Richter rubato gives special meaning to every phrase stirring the passions as few musicians are able. Everything is related to the whole as is only possible when the mind can see the total conception in every instant, a gift granted only to the very few.This is the miracle of Richter, John Spivey

prompt and perfect. Great sounding. The Debussy is wonderfully played

At last the recordings of Richter's phenomenal Spoleto recital is available on CD! They used to be available on Vox Turnabout LP's with some disturbing noises from the audiences, but thanks to the excellent re-mastering and clean-up by the engineers, now you can fully immerse yourself in Richter's transcendental pianism without distraction. The note in the artwork says, "Where original tapes were not available, alternate sources were employed. The original sequence of the recital program has been restored to its proper order. Inherent tape hiss level changes, intrusive noises and a number of dropouts and impulse noises in the original tape sources have been remidied in this release." I've tried to detect the patch work they did, but it was barely noticible to untrained ears. The audience applauses are not intrusive and only add to the sense of occasion.The original recording quality itself was on better side compared to Richter's other live recordings in the 60s, so in this newly remastered sound, the mesmerizing intricacy of his playing of Debussy's Preludes, for example, is presented with astonishing presence and atmosphere. They apparently could not remove the ringing of a church bell in Debussy's 1st Prelude, but strangely it sounds as if it's a part of the music creating a dream-like effect!The wonderful expressiveness of Haydn's Sonata No.37 or the incandescent performance of Schumann's Noveletten grabs your attention immediately and makes you wonder why the piano suddenly becomes like a breathing living being when Richter plays it.Richter plays the opening 'Moderato' section of Chopin's Gm Ballade in his characteristic contemplative tempo (too slow for my taste) and takes too much risk in the fast sections, literally to a breaking point, which results in a few slips of fingers, and the music dangerously comes close to a collapse in 'Presto con fuoco' section.Track List:1. Applause: Applause2-5. Haydn - Piano Sonata No.37 (22) in E Major, HobXVI/226-7. Schumann - Noveletten, Op.22: No.1 in F Major & No.2 in D Major8. Chopin - Ballade in G minor, Op.23: Ballade in G minor, Op.239. ApplauseDebussy10. Préludes, Livre II: 1. Brouillards11. Préludes, Livre II: 2. Feuilles Mortes12. Préludes, Livre II: 3. La Puerta Del Vino13. Préludes, Livre II: 4. "Les Fees Sont D'Exquises Danseuses"14. Préludes, Livre II: 5. Bruyeres15. Préludes, Livre II: 6. "General Lavine"-Eccentric16. Préludes, Livre II: 7. La Terrasse Des Audiences Du Clair De Lune Lent17. Préludes, Livre II: 8. Ondine18. Préludes, Livre II: 9. Hommage A S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C.19. Préludes, Livre II: 10. Canope20. Préludes, Livre II: 11. Les Tierces Alternees21. Préludes, Livre II: 12. Feux D'Artifice22. Préludes, Livre I: 9. La sérénade interrompue

I once booked a ticket for a Richter recital but was gutted when he cancelled at the last minute. This disc, however, shows what it was like to be at a Richter recital when the great man was at the height of his powers. Just to say that the playing is phenomenal, spun out with great varieties of tone colour. it's as if Richter is spinning a series of glorious coloured silks. The live recording is good and the audience pretty quiet throughout except at the end of each number when they break into hysterical applause. But, then, who wouldn't at such playing?

Excellent recital, good sound. For Richter's lover, this recording is a must, hard to be found on other CDs.Only 4 stars for it was wrong dated - 14 June instead of 14 July. On the back cover, Schumann Op. 22 instead of Op. 21. The recording location was Teatro Nuovo from Spoleto (not mentioned). Producer must be more carefully with such important details for classical music collectors.

Über Richter sind viele kluge und begeisterte Worte geschrieben worden, die ich so nicht wiederholen möchte und auch nicht könnte. Deshalb wird diese Rezension sehr kurz sein.Es sind allesamt (ich habe mir Debussy noch nicht angehört) Aufnahmen, die einem den Atem verschlagen. Ein wunderbar leicht-spielerischer Haydn, daß einem die Sonne aufgeht, ein schwindelerregend schwergewichtiger, von Richter hörbar sehr ernstgenommene Schumann und eine Chopin Ballade, nach dem man nur nach Luft schnappen kann. Da vergißt man sämtliche romantisch-süßen, weichen Chopin-Interpretationen, die man je gehört hat. Alles in allem - die weitere Wiedergabe habe ich abgebrochen, weil ich schlicht am Heulen war von so viel Schönheit und Leidenschaft.Nach diesen sehr subjektiven Zeilen jetzt was Objektives, die Liste der Stücke (die Präsentation bei Amazon ist noch spärlicher als sonst):- Haydn: Klaviersonate Nr. 37 E-dur, Hob.XVI:22- Schumann: Novellette op. 21 Nr. 1 F-dur- Schumann: Novellette op. 21 Nr. 2 D-dur- Chopin: Ballade g-moll op. 23- Debussy: Préludes, Livre II (vollständig!)- Debussy: Préludes, Livre I Nr. 9, La sérénade interrompue (vermutlich war das die Zugabe)

I eagerly awaited the arrival of this legendary recording, but was not prepared to find the background noise and audience coughing and shuffling to be so intrusive -- early reviews underplayed this consideration. Of course, given Richter's preference for live recordings, one has to make compromises. On a more subjective note, I did not find the Debussy as magical as some of Richter's other versions.