Calling all
Richter fans: this Doremi two-disc set features performances that are for the most part new to the
Richter discography and includes several works that are altogether new to the
Richter repertoire. The core is the Soviet titan's complete April 15, 1965, Carnegie Hall concert. Though the sound is raw and the audience takes too long settling down, the performances themselves are stunning.
Richter's opening
Schubert B major Sonata, D. 575, is delightfully lyrical but touchingly poetic. His central
Brahms set, the first two ballades from Opus 10 followed by three of the six pieces from Opus 11, is violently expressive but tightly controlled except for a handful of bashed right-hand chords. His climactic group of
Chopin's Scherzos is fabulously virtuosic but flamboyantly reckless, taking chances with double octaves at velocities that few other pianists would dare. The closing works,
Ravel's Oiseaux tristes and three short pieces by
Rachmaninov, are marvels of musicianship and expressivity. Also included here are the only known recordings by
Richter of
Schubert's E major Sonata, D. 459; G flat major Impromptu, D. 899; and E major March, D. 606, as well as first releases of recordings of the A flat major Impromptu, D. 899; and C major Moment Musical, D. 780. For those who know
Richter only by reputation, this two-disc set might not be the place to start. The sound is too rough and the audience too noisy. But for
Richter fans, no more need be said.