Sviatoslav Richter - Plays Mussorgsky Schubert Chopin Liszt

Modest Mussorgsky

PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION

1 I. Promenade 1:35
2 II. No. 1 "Gnomus" 2:27
3 III. [Untitled] (Interlude, Promenade theme) 0:44
4 IV. No. 2 "Il vecchio castello" 4:27
5 V. [Untitled] (Interlude, Promenade theme) 0:23
6 VI. No. 3 "Tuileries" (Dispute d'enfants apres jeux) 0:56
7 VII. No. 4 "Bydlo" 2:14
8 VIII. [Untitled] (Interlude, Promenade theme) 0:33
9 IX. No. 5 "Балет невылупившихся птенцов" 1:09
10 X. No. 6 "Samuel" Goldenberg und "Schmuyle" 1:41
11 XI. Promenade 1:07
12 XII. No. 7 "Limoges, le marche" (La grande nouvelle) 1:17
13 XIII. No. 8 "Catacomb?" (Sepulcrum romanum) and
"Cum mortuis in lingua mortua" 1:55
14 XIV. Cum mortuis in lingua mortua 1:57
15. XV. No. 9 "Избушка на курьих ножках" (Баба-Яга) 2:51
16 XVI. No. 10 "Богатырские ворота" (В стольном городе во Киеве) 5:01

Franz Schubert

17. Moment musical in C, Op. 94/1 5:48
18. Impromptu in E-flat, Op. 90/2 4:16
19. Impromptu in E-flat, Op. 90/4 7:20

Frederic Chopin

20. Etude in E, Op. 10/3 "Tristesse" 4:13

Franz Liszt

21. Valse oubliee n° 1 in E-sharp 2:53
22. Valse oubliee n° 2 1-flat 5:53

Etudes d'Execution transcendante
23. N° 5 in B-flat "Feux Follets" 3:36
24. N° 11 in D-flat "Harmonie du Soir" 9:26

Sviatoslav Richter - piano

Recorded Live, Budapest, Sofia, February 1958

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. --- pm444 "pm444" (Okemos, MI USA)

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