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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
107 of 111 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Although it is infuriating (almost unforgivably!) that there is no Chopin or Liszt here, this is a conceptually superb collection from the numerous Richter recordings that have yet to be faithfully and flawlessly transferred into the definitive collection of this Master Pianist. The remastered quality is excellent, and the battery of different stylistic ranges and musical epochs that Richter conquers is formidable.
Renowned for the almost insane energy with which he seems to manhandle and throw the piano around, whilst equally capable of those tender caressing notes too, Richter effortlessly locks horns with the scores from sonata, quintet, concerto and triple concerto forms for both piano and violin. Dynamic, dazzling, stunning, fiercely energetic and committed to every note, Richter can connect with the real story, the real passion behind the score of notes. He transforms what I once saw as predictable histrionic sentimentality (often played in the dry, sterile technical snobbery of a narrow elitist clique of pianists & classicists) of the Romantic composers into an arresting poetic drama. His performances are simply monumental - and he chooses to work with only those scores and conductors where his mystical connection with music can flare into flames of inspiration that pierce the dark and the dead. The booklet accompanying calls this selection 'Grace Under Fire'...!
Technically, Richter can deliver you into the hands of exquisite tranquillity (Grieg, Schumann, Mozart), the strident humanistic confidence and tender optimism of Schubert and Brahms, the stunning virtuoso interaction of piano-violin exchanges in Beethoven/Mozart Violin Sonatas, the hyper-intelligent baroque alertness and speeds of Handel's keyboard suites brought astonishingly to life, the dramatic modernist discontinuities of Dvorak, Bartok, Prokofiev and Berg, whilst almost daring orchestras to keep up with his pace, energy and sonority in the powerful 120ft high wave-of-sound confrontations with orchestras in the concertos. Mozart is the spunkiest I have ever heard him, and Beethoven restored to the majesterial, daringly pioneering, and expansive - without a hint of the yawning boredom of the familiar that afflicts both composers's performance nowadays. His work with violinist Oleg Kagan in the violin sonatas and conductors Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti are outstanding collaborations, full of passion, innovation and energy. Also included are what Richter despised as the farcical Triple Concerto event (Beethoven Op 56) under von Karajan's conducting as well as Carlos Kleiber whom he considered far superior to Karajan. Not a dull millisecond anywhere whether you agree with him or not!
Due to the woeful lack of information on the whole Icon range, I hope its useful to have the breakdown, especially since the cover artwork doesn't mention Dvorak, Bartok, and Alban Berg. So:
CD1: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 1, 7, 17 (Tempest)
CD2: Schubert - Piano Sonata (Wanderer Fantasy in C); Schumann - Fantasy in C
CD3: Schumann - Papillons, Piano Sonata No. 2, Faschingsswank aus Wien
CD4: Beethoven - Violin Sonata No. 5 (Spring); Schubert - Piano Quintet (Trout)
CD5: Mozart - Violin Sonatas (K306, 378, 372)
CD6: Handel - Keyboard Suites (2, 3, 5, 8)
CD7: Handel - Keyboard Suites (9, 12, 14, 16)
CD8: Brahms - Die Schone Magelone (Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau)
CD9: Mozart - Piano Concerto No 22; Beethoven - Piano Concerto No 3
CD10:Beethoven - Triple Concerto; Violin Sonata No 4
CD11:Brahms - Piano Concerto No 2; Mozart - Violin Sonata (K379)
CD12:Dvorak - Piano Concerto; Bartok - Piano Concerto No 2
CD13:Grieg - Piano Concerto; Schumann - Piano Concerto
CD14:Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No 5; Berg - Chamber Concerto
You can see immediately how this provides fascinating study material for comparatives on style and content - and Richter works with orchestras and ensembles from Paris, London, Moscow, Monte Carlo and Munich to deliver this colossal offering.
In terms of connection with the mystical and transcendental dimension of music, Richter has only one rival for me - Alfred Cortot. Not even the prodigious Ashkenazy can rival Richter's total output. But where Cortot almost makes his notes hover in your mind, Richter burns the physicality of the piano's body into your head - through which you are led to the transcendent feel and the mystical visions of the human heart and spirit, restoring uniqueness and dignity to our humanity.
Given this is merely a tiny fraction of his total output, and whilst we await Decca's remastering of the rest (not to mention the Carnegie Hall concerts), this collection for now will definitely be off the Richter scale for me.
Renowned for the almost insane energy with which he seems to manhandle and throw the piano around, whilst equally capable of those tender caressing notes too, Richter effortlessly locks horns with the scores from sonata, quintet, concerto and triple concerto forms for both piano and violin. Dynamic, dazzling, stunning, fiercely energetic and committed to every note, Richter can connect with the real story, the real passion behind the score of notes. He transforms what I once saw as predictable histrionic sentimentality (often played in the dry, sterile technical snobbery of a narrow elitist clique of pianists & classicists) of the Romantic composers into an arresting poetic drama. His performances are simply monumental - and he chooses to work with only those scores and conductors where his mystical connection with music can flare into flames of inspiration that pierce the dark and the dead. The booklet accompanying calls this selection 'Grace Under Fire'...!
Technically, Richter can deliver you into the hands of exquisite tranquillity (Grieg, Schumann, Mozart), the strident humanistic confidence and tender optimism of Schubert and Brahms, the stunning virtuoso interaction of piano-violin exchanges in Beethoven/Mozart Violin Sonatas, the hyper-intelligent baroque alertness and speeds of Handel's keyboard suites brought astonishingly to life, the dramatic modernist discontinuities of Dvorak, Bartok, Prokofiev and Berg, whilst almost daring orchestras to keep up with his pace, energy and sonority in the powerful 120ft high wave-of-sound confrontations with orchestras in the concertos. Mozart is the spunkiest I have ever heard him, and Beethoven restored to the majesterial, daringly pioneering, and expansive - without a hint of the yawning boredom of the familiar that afflicts both composers's performance nowadays. His work with violinist Oleg Kagan in the violin sonatas and conductors Lorin Maazel and Riccardo Muti are outstanding collaborations, full of passion, innovation and energy. Also included are what Richter despised as the farcical Triple Concerto event (Beethoven Op 56) under von Karajan's conducting as well as Carlos Kleiber whom he considered far superior to Karajan. Not a dull millisecond anywhere whether you agree with him or not!
Due to the woeful lack of information on the whole Icon range, I hope its useful to have the breakdown, especially since the cover artwork doesn't mention Dvorak, Bartok, and Alban Berg. So:
CD1: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas 1, 7, 17 (Tempest)
CD2: Schubert - Piano Sonata (Wanderer Fantasy in C); Schumann - Fantasy in C
CD3: Schumann - Papillons, Piano Sonata No. 2, Faschingsswank aus Wien
CD4: Beethoven - Violin Sonata No. 5 (Spring); Schubert - Piano Quintet (Trout)
CD5: Mozart - Violin Sonatas (K306, 378, 372)
CD6: Handel - Keyboard Suites (2, 3, 5, 8)
CD7: Handel - Keyboard Suites (9, 12, 14, 16)
CD8: Brahms - Die Schone Magelone (Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau)
CD9: Mozart - Piano Concerto No 22; Beethoven - Piano Concerto No 3
CD10:Beethoven - Triple Concerto; Violin Sonata No 4
CD11:Brahms - Piano Concerto No 2; Mozart - Violin Sonata (K379)
CD12:Dvorak - Piano Concerto; Bartok - Piano Concerto No 2
CD13:Grieg - Piano Concerto; Schumann - Piano Concerto
CD14:Prokofiev - Piano Concerto No 5; Berg - Chamber Concerto
You can see immediately how this provides fascinating study material for comparatives on style and content - and Richter works with orchestras and ensembles from Paris, London, Moscow, Monte Carlo and Munich to deliver this colossal offering.
In terms of connection with the mystical and transcendental dimension of music, Richter has only one rival for me - Alfred Cortot. Not even the prodigious Ashkenazy can rival Richter's total output. But where Cortot almost makes his notes hover in your mind, Richter burns the physicality of the piano's body into your head - through which you are led to the transcendent feel and the mystical visions of the human heart and spirit, restoring uniqueness and dignity to our humanity.
Given this is merely a tiny fraction of his total output, and whilst we await Decca's remastering of the rest (not to mention the Carnegie Hall concerts), this collection for now will definitely be off the Richter scale for me.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm not really given to falling in love with performers - more usually it is the performances that I fall in love with - but Richter seems almost always to be interesting, arresting and deeply satisfying and I do seem to be buying quite a few of his records. This set is filled with marvellous things - some that I had before, others that I had alternative Richter performances of and many great works that I had not heard Richter in before - and much that is here is in the unmissable category.
There is Richter's great Schumann Fantasy in C (which I already had) and a jaw dropping live Schumann second sonata (which I didn't). There are many excellent studio accounts of Beethoven sonatas (many of which I already had live accounts of - which are, I think, even better) and a lot of truly wonderful Handel. Anyone who knows Richter's set of Bach's 48 will not be surprised at how distinguished and wonderful his Handel is.
Then there are concertos. The great Richter-Oistrakh-Rostopovich Beethoven Triple is here. There are also truly excellent Prokofiev 5 and Bartok 2 (despite slightly fierce and muddy orchestral sound in the latter) and an account of the Berg Chamber Concerto that positively defines the work. There is an interesting Dvorak and merely good accounts of Beethoven 3rd, Mozart 22nd. The Schumann concerto gets a great performance. And a controversial Grieg: very big and very Romantic but lacking in the more gentle and lyrical side that is normally considered essential in Grieg (I am totally convinced by Richter's approach myself). There is also a Brahms 2 (with Maazel) that doesn't quite work for me and isn't an equal of his famous account with Leinsdorf.
Some reviewers seem disappointed that this set lacks this or that performance, that it is not complete. Well, a complete set of Richter's recordings would run to more than 100 CDs, I'm sure. What is here is treasure - and lots of it for a small price! Amazon are currently selling this at a bit more than £16 (for 14 discs) - which is an extraordinary bargain.
There is Richter's great Schumann Fantasy in C (which I already had) and a jaw dropping live Schumann second sonata (which I didn't). There are many excellent studio accounts of Beethoven sonatas (many of which I already had live accounts of - which are, I think, even better) and a lot of truly wonderful Handel. Anyone who knows Richter's set of Bach's 48 will not be surprised at how distinguished and wonderful his Handel is.
Then there are concertos. The great Richter-Oistrakh-Rostopovich Beethoven Triple is here. There are also truly excellent Prokofiev 5 and Bartok 2 (despite slightly fierce and muddy orchestral sound in the latter) and an account of the Berg Chamber Concerto that positively defines the work. There is an interesting Dvorak and merely good accounts of Beethoven 3rd, Mozart 22nd. The Schumann concerto gets a great performance. And a controversial Grieg: very big and very Romantic but lacking in the more gentle and lyrical side that is normally considered essential in Grieg (I am totally convinced by Richter's approach myself). There is also a Brahms 2 (with Maazel) that doesn't quite work for me and isn't an equal of his famous account with Leinsdorf.
Some reviewers seem disappointed that this set lacks this or that performance, that it is not complete. Well, a complete set of Richter's recordings would run to more than 100 CDs, I'm sure. What is here is treasure - and lots of it for a small price! Amazon are currently selling this at a bit more than £16 (for 14 discs) - which is an extraordinary bargain.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Admirers of Richter's unique style will need no review to tell them that this set is extraordinary value and essential listening, so I am directing this review at those who are interested in exploring one of the great pianists of the 20th century. The previous reviewer (Previn Karian) outlines lucidly Richter's qualities. A very `physical' pianist, I find something percussive in his tone, particularly in faster, louder moments, but equally the ability to sing with a warm legato line, and it tends to be in slow movements that I like him best. Richter is unquestionably a magical pianist and listening to his account of the slow movement of the Schumann concerto, to take only one example, one finds a Romantic weight and richness without the cloying sentimentality that often goes with it. Yet Richter is never cold or distant, always sympathetic to the demands of composer and piece.
The caveat is that few of these performances would be my first choice: exceptions to that are the Bartok, Prokofiev and Dvorak Concerti, and I admit I don't like his Schubert, preferring the likes of Perahia, Tirimo, Brendel and Klien. For me it is at times too brittle, though I know many feel very differently and my objections are more a matter of taste and sensibility, because Richter certainly has much to say about this music too. He was never one to take the obvious or easy route; his recording of the Berg Chamber Concerto, for example, is the only one (as far as I am aware) to include the repeats and, though, I don't believe you need them, it does add a whole other dimension to the music. I particularly enjoyed his collaborations with the violinist Oleg Kagan, in both Mozart and Beethoven, in which one gets a sense of two equals probing and examining as partners in a great adventure. It brings a freshness to the music and an excitement, as if (paradoxically) hearing the music again for the first time.
And indeed Richter is often revelatory in his view of standard repertoire. The Mozart recordings exemplify this. The set offers a performance of the Concerto in E flat (no. 22) that is individual and idiosyncratic, yet wholly convincing in its vision, and it is wonderful to hear Britten's cadenzas. Admittedly I prefer both Perahia and Uchida in this music, but Richter is inspired, refreshing one's view of what is possible. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion is the Brahms Die Schone Magalone, a song cycle in which he accompanies the great Fischer-Dieskau in a lesser known masterpiece that well deserves to be heard when treated with such affection and concentration. I say accompanies, though again one has a sense of partnership, a meeting of equals determined to winkle out the subtleties of the piece.
The set is, as another reviewer says, incomplete. The live account of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is a must and there are other performances by Richter of Beethoven sonatas and concerti that better demonstrate why many regard him as such a great Beethovenian. Nonetheless, at this price, 14 discs of recordings by such a great musician as Richter undoubtedly is an exceptional bargain and not too be missed.
The caveat is that few of these performances would be my first choice: exceptions to that are the Bartok, Prokofiev and Dvorak Concerti, and I admit I don't like his Schubert, preferring the likes of Perahia, Tirimo, Brendel and Klien. For me it is at times too brittle, though I know many feel very differently and my objections are more a matter of taste and sensibility, because Richter certainly has much to say about this music too. He was never one to take the obvious or easy route; his recording of the Berg Chamber Concerto, for example, is the only one (as far as I am aware) to include the repeats and, though, I don't believe you need them, it does add a whole other dimension to the music. I particularly enjoyed his collaborations with the violinist Oleg Kagan, in both Mozart and Beethoven, in which one gets a sense of two equals probing and examining as partners in a great adventure. It brings a freshness to the music and an excitement, as if (paradoxically) hearing the music again for the first time.
And indeed Richter is often revelatory in his view of standard repertoire. The Mozart recordings exemplify this. The set offers a performance of the Concerto in E flat (no. 22) that is individual and idiosyncratic, yet wholly convincing in its vision, and it is wonderful to hear Britten's cadenzas. Admittedly I prefer both Perahia and Uchida in this music, but Richter is inspired, refreshing one's view of what is possible. Perhaps the most surprising inclusion is the Brahms Die Schone Magalone, a song cycle in which he accompanies the great Fischer-Dieskau in a lesser known masterpiece that well deserves to be heard when treated with such affection and concentration. I say accompanies, though again one has a sense of partnership, a meeting of equals determined to winkle out the subtleties of the piece.
The set is, as another reviewer says, incomplete. The live account of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition is a must and there are other performances by Richter of Beethoven sonatas and concerti that better demonstrate why many regard him as such a great Beethovenian. Nonetheless, at this price, 14 discs of recordings by such a great musician as Richter undoubtedly is an exceptional bargain and not too be missed.
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