Sofia Recs - Brahms Concerto 2, Tchaikovsky Concerto 1:
LINK [FLAC]
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Oh really? Fuck!
Thank you!!!
Thanks a lot! I’m still listen to the Prague set, currently on Ravel’s miroirs. Is there anyone else who does a great une barque sur l’océan ? I can’t actually think of any really famous versions. I really liked what Rana did with it when I saw her live, but Richter is next level here.
I like Bertrand Chamayou…
Yeah, I like him too. I have a live broadcast from a couple of years ago when he did the complete Ravel. I’ll have to relisten to it.
Last one before I have to go to school, Mozarts A minor sonata K310. This is my favourite Mozart sonata, and Richter’s is nice (particularly the second movement) but lacking in intensity and drive. It’s strange to describe a Richter performance as lacking in these two qualities, which are probably his two most salient characteristics, but that’s honestly the impression I got from this recording.
Cuntraversally I’ve not liked what I’ve heard of Richter in classical rep. Did a random comparison of haydn dmaj cuncerto and he was on the bottom. ADL took home the prize of datube videos that came up that day.
Oh yes, I adore AdL in that concerto. I think SR’s Haydn is generally ok at least though - he’s my preferred pianist in XVI:52 - but I don’t like his Mozart either (and I don’t think this is a controversial opinion, unless you also include LvB).
Well general consensus on this forum is whatever Richter touches turn to gold…
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This is usually the case 
It was only a few days ago I said I couldn’t stand him in the transcendentals?
Richter is the pianist of the century for me, but I don’t do sacred cows and I certainly don’t think everything he touched turned to gold. He had a resolute, overpowering personality at the piano I think worked wonders in composers like Prokofiev, Beethoven etc, but it’s not what I want to hear in every piece of music. He also played a copious amount of music, and my experience is that even the most inveterate SR fanatic will concede that not all of it was studied very carefully. If you turn to the Argerich clan however, or Sokolov’s Facebook group… that’s where I tend to get tired pretty quickly.
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Yeah I’m no evangelist either, even if I respond the strongest to Richter and Horowitz’s personality. Another one would be Rubinstein, especially when he was young. Horowitz and Rubinstein aren’t even top 3 pianist for me, btw.
I forgot to add, that Richter was the only pianist who made me fundamentally reassess my approach to interpretation and what I value. If you come across posts from 10+ years ago, you’ll see that I didn’t particularly like him to begin with.
I absolutely love Richter’s Haydn. Obviously, some performances are better than others. I’m not as much fan of his Mozart, though Richter admitted he had trouble ‘getting’ Mozart. I do think he’s much more at home in Mozart’s Concertos rather than the sonatas.
@mikey : Richter’s Haydn Concerto is from 1983. As far as I’m concerned anything post-1977 is usually not his best work. Listen to some of his '60s Haydn sonatas to get a sense of his best Haydn playing.
Yes, I’m entirely with the Canadian.
And thanks for the Sofias! I haven’t downloaded yet, but will do so tonight.
Just down and the Tchaikovsky is playing. This orchestra. 
Thanks again Chris.
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My favourite Haydn pianist is 
But my favourite Mozart pianist is 
so make of that what you will
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It’s been a long time since I listened to Richter in the TEs. I recall quite profoundly disliking his H du S and thought it had all the subtlety of someone taking a hammer to the crockery. There’s some of his Liszt I really like though.
H du S is one TE where I sometimes prefer later Richter to earlier Richter. His 1988 recording on RCA is quite good, a little more energetic than typical late Richter but not turbocharged like his earlier interpretations.