SVIATOSLAV RICHTER - COMPLETE DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON SOLO AND CONCERTO RECORDINGS (9 CDS)

Sviatoslav Richter represents the summit of pianistic achievement: his incredible virtuosity and strength, his vision of structure and form, the range of emotion he was able to express on his instrument in concert and on disc have never been surpassed.

Now, for the first time, all nine of the solo and concerto LP-recordings he made for Deutsche Grammophon have been gathered into a single box-set at budget price. All of these recordings have been in the DG catalogue since they were made; if they’re not still at top price, they’re in The Originals series.

It started in 1956 with a Schumann recital and ended in 1962 with a recital recorded live on tour in Italy. In between there were five concerto LPs (including Rachmaninov’s Second, Tchaikovsy’s First with Karajan, the Schumann and Prokofiev’s Fifth) and two more mixed recitals. Here they are, faithfully reproduced in their original couplings (newly mastered) and with original artwork in mini-LP format. The CD booklet (in the style of the The Martha Argerich Collection) has masterly new liner notes by piano expert Jeremy Siepmann, who manages to capture the essence of Richter the man and musician, as well as furnishing precise annotations on each of the albums in turn.

An essential box-set for all serious lovers of piano music.

Bach, J S:
Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 1 in C major, BWV846
Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 4 in C sharp minor, BWV849
Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 5 in D major, BWV850
Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 6 in D minor, BWV851
Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 8 in E flat minor, BWV853
Beethoven:
Rondo for Piano & Orchestra in B flat major, WoO 6
Wiener Symphoniker, Kurt Sanderling
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
Wiener Symphoniker, Kurt Sanderling
Chopin:
Ballade No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47
Polonaise No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61 'Polonaise-fantaisie'
Étude Op. 10 No. 1 in C major
Étude Op. 10 No. 12 in C minor ‘Revolutionary'
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
Debussy:
Préludes - Book 1: No. 2, Voiles
Préludes - Book 1: No. 3, Le vent dans la plaine
Préludes - Book 1: No. 5, Les collines d'Anacapri
Estampes (3) (Complete)
Haydn:
Piano Sonata No. 32 in G minor, Hob.XVI:44
Mozart:
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K466
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Witold Rowicki
Prokofiev:
Piano Concerto No. 5 in G major, Op. 55
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Witold Rowicki
Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat major, Op. 84
Visions fugitives, Op. 22, No. 3
Visions fugitives, Op. 22, No. 6
Visions fugitives, Op. 22, No. 9
Rachmaninov:
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Witold Rowicki
Prelude Op. 32 No. 1 in C major
Prelude Op. 32 No. 2 in B flat minor
Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 in B flat major
Prelude Op. 23 No. 4 in D major
Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 in G minor
Prelude Op. 23 No. 7 in C minor
Prelude Op. 32 No. 12 in G sharp minor
Schubert:
Allegretto in C minor, D915
Ländler in A major (from 17 Ländler, D366)
Schumann:
March in G minor, Op. 76, No. 2
Waldszenen, Op. 82
Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 (selection)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Witold Rowicki
Introduction & Allegro appassionato in G major, Op. 92
Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki
Novelette, Op. 21 No. 1 in F major
Toccata in C major, Op. 7
Abegg Variations, Op. 1
Scriabin:
Piano Sonata No. 5 in F sharp major, Op. 53
Tchaikovsky:
Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23
Wiener Symphoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Sviatoslav Richter (piano)