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Richter: Portrait of a Legend

Label: BBC Legends

Cat No: BBCL50042

Barcode: 0684911500424

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 4

Release Date: 1st October 2007

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Works

Chopin
Andante spianato in G major and Grande Polonaise in E flat major, Op.22

Chopin
Etude No.10, Op.4

Liszt
Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat major

Liszt
Piano Concerto No.2 in A major

Liszt
Hungarian Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra

Mozart
Piano Sonata in G major, K283

Tchaikovsky
Excerpts from “The Seasons”

Rachmaninov
Etudes-tableaux

Scriabin
Piano Sonata No.9 “Black Mass”

Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No.4 in C minor

Beethoven
Piano Sonata No.9

Beethoven
Piano Sonata No.10

Schubert
Wanderer Fantasy

Schumann
Faschingsschwank aus Wien

Schumann
Abegg Variations

Artists

Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra

Conductor

Kyrill Kondrashin

Works

Artists

Sviatoslav Richter (piano)
London Symphony Orchestra

Conductor

Kyrill Kondrashin

About

This 4 CD box set featuring the great Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter combines four of his best-selling BBC Legends catalogue releases in a newly designed Limited Edition deluxe multipack box set with slipcase.

With a fresh design which retains links to the BBC Legends series, this set has been compiled to appeal to a broader audience and also collectors looking for a great opportunity to purchase an instant ‘library’ of this great master’s performances on record.

Richter enthusiasts will find a range of thrilling live performances in this set, many of composers with whom he was long associated, including Mozart, Schubert, Chopin and Liszt, as well as Beethoven and Schumann.

Richter established himself as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th Century, part of a golden era in Russian music which produced David Oistrakh, Emil Gilels and Mstislav Rostropovich.

CD1: (BBCL 4031-2)

Chopin: Andante spianato in G major and Grande Polonaise in E flat major, Op.22
Sviatoslav Richter

Royal Albert Hall, London, 16 July 1961

Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat major
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.2 in A major
Liszt: Hungarian Fantasia for Piano and Orchestra
Sviatoslav Richter, London Symphony Orchestra / Kyrill Kondrashin

Royal Albert Hall, London, 18 July 1961

Thrilling performances of the two Liszt Piano Concertos from 1961. There are two premieres on this disc - Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasia and Chopin’s Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise.

Review:
“Richter's Debussy radiates a hypnotic power quite beyond the routinely expressive and picturesque; it's elevated music-making of the kind given only to the very few." Gramophone

CD2: (BBCL 4082-2)

Mozart: Piano Sonata in G major, K283
Tchaikovsky: Excerpts from “The Seasons”
Rachmaninov: Etudes-tableaux
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No.9 “Black Mass”
Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No.4 in C minor
Sviatoslav Richter

Aldeburgh Parish Church, 19 June 1966

A great musical occasion, this concert was recorded live at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1966, a Festival Richter performed at frequently. The disc presents Richter playing composers he was particularly associated with, including Mozart, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev.

Reviews:
“Uniquely treasurable and inspiring performances in ideal remastered sound." Gramophone

“This stunning programme shows the great pianist at his mesmerising best…this disc moves from one outstanding performance to another…Another one not to be missed." International Piano Magazine

CD3: (BBCL 4126-2)

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.9
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.10
Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy
Sviatoslav Richter

Royal Festival Hall, London, 2 February 1963

Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien
Schumann: Abegg Variations
Chopin: Etude No.10, Op.4
Sviatoslav Richter

Royal Festival Hall, London, 27 January 1963

Richter’s appearances were rare occasions in the early 60s hence this is an important recording. All of these works were Richter ‘favourites’, which he played frequently.

Review:
"BBC Legends’ invaluable issue of a recital given at the Royal Festival Hall in 1963 offers still further evidence of Richter’s ever-astonishing, complex and mercurial character.” Gramophone

CD4: (BBCL 4146-2)

Schubert: Moment musicaux D780 Nos.1, 3, 6
Sviatoslav Richter

Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, 22 June 1965

Schubert: Piano Sonata No.6 in E minor D566
Sviatoslav Richter

Parish Church, Aldeburgh, 20 June 1964

Chopin: Barcarolle in F sharp major Op.60
Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor S178
Sviatoslav Richter

Parish Church, Aldeburgh, 21 June 1966

Further live performances from Aldeburgh from 1964, 1965 and 1966. The Liszt B minor Sonata from 1966 is said to be one of Richter’s greatest performances.

Review:
"One can do little more than sit in misty-eyed wonder as Richter ‘live’ at his mid-1960s peak shapes Schubert’s phrases with a golden-toned sensitivity that makes everything sound so incredibly easy.” Classic FM Magazine