One of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, Sviatoslav Richter was also one of the most self contained, enigmatic and elusive artists of the time. A fierce self-critic, he seldom was happy with the results of his recordings. His criticism often embraced conductors, producers and sound engineers.

These recordings capture him in a wide range of concertos from Bach to Britten, via his beloved Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (though he only recorded his concertos 1&3 and the Triple Concerto) and Brahms. Many of the recordings date from prior to the commercial releases.

The Dvorak here is from 1966 and conducted by Kondrashin. The famous EMI LP with Kleiber appeared in the 1970s – Richter claimed that neither he nor Kleiber were in the best form. In the case of the Britten concerto with the composer conducting, the recording here is from 3 years earlier than the famous Decca LP. Richter was unhappy with this as Britten was apparently ill and ‘a shadow of himself’.

The Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 and the Schumann are from private tapes owned by conductor George Georgescu who is at the helm in both concertos. A good example of Richter’s self-criticism can be found in his comment on his later RCA Chicago Symphony/Leinsdorf recording: ‘one of my worst records…I can’t bear it’. It won a Grammy!

This set also includes some of the lesser known works Richter championed - Les Djinns by Franck and the Dvorak Piano Concerto which he played more than 25 times from the 1960s to the 80s. He did more than any pianist to restore this work to the repertoire.

Contents:
CD 1
Johann Sebastian Bach
- Keyboard Concerto No.1 in D minor BWV1052
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / Kurt Sanderling

- Keyboard Concerto No.3 in D BWV1054
- Keyboard Concerto in G minor BWV1058
Students’ Orchestra of the Moscow State Conservatory / Yuri Nikolayevsky

CD 2
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat K271 ‘Jeunehomme’
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / Evgeny Svetlanov

- Piano Concerto No.17 in G K453
Moscow Chamber Orchestra / Rudolf Barshai

CD 3
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor K466
Moscow State Symphony Orchestra / Karl Eliasberg

- Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat K595
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill Kondrashin

CD 4
- Piano Concerto No.14 in E flat K449
Moscow Chamber Orchestra / Rudolf Barshai

Ludwig van Beethoven
- Piano Concerto No.3 in C minor Op.37
Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra / Kurt Sanderling

- Choral Fantasy in C minor Op.80
USSR State Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus / Kurt Sanderling

CD 5
Robert Schumann
- Piano Concerto in A minor Op.54
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / George Georgescu

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor Op.23
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra / Kirill Kondrashin

CD 6
Johannes Brahms
- Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat Op.83
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / George Georgescu

Richard Strauss
- Burleske in D minor
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / Gennady Rozhdestvensky

CD 7
Frederic Chopin
- Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor Op.21
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / Evgeny Svetlanov

Cesar Franck
- Les Djinns
Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra / Kirill Kondrashin

Franz Joseph Haydn
- Piano Concerto in D Hob.XVIII/11
Minsk Chamber Orchestra / Yuri Tsiryuk

CD 8
Antonin Dvorak
- Piano Concerto in G minor Op.33
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra / Evgeny Svetlanov

Sergei Prokofiev
- Piano Concerto No.1 in D flat Op.10
Moscow Youth Symphony Orchestra / Kirill Kondrashin

CD 9
Bela Bartok
- Piano Concerto No.2 in F minor Op.21/Sz95

Benjamin Britten
Piano Concerto No.1 in D Op.13
USSR State Symphony Orchestra / Evgeny Svetlanov

CD 10
Alban Berg
- Chamber Concerto for piano, violin and 13 wind Instruments
Oleg Kagan (violin)
All-Union Radio and TV Large Symphony Orchestra / Rudolf Barshai

Paul Hindemith
- Kammermusik No.2
Moscow Conservatory Orchestra / Yuri Nikolayevsky