Sviatoslav Richter Live at Carnegie Hall, October 19, 1960 – All Beethoven Program (2015) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Sviatoslav Richter Live at Carnegie Hall, October 19, 1960 – All Beethoven Program (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:48:31 minutes | 0,98 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Front Cover | © Columbia Records
Recorded: Carnegie Hall, October 19, 1960

Sony Classcial celebrates the art of Sviatoslav Richter (1995-1997) – one of the 20th century’s greatest pianists – with the first-ever release of his complete Columbia Masterworks and RCA Victor live and studio recordings in an 18 CD original jacket edition, underneath Richter’s legendary five October 1960 Carnegie Hall recitals.
Richter was already a legend in his native Soviet Union when he concertized in the West for the first time in 1960. Richter’s American tour that year not only consolidated the pianist’s international reputation, but also resulted the memorable recordings gathered together in this collection.

Richter’s five October 1960 Carnegie Hall recitals showcased the breadth of his repertoire from Haydn and Beethoven to Debussy and Rachmaninoff, with one program completely devoted to Prokofiev, a composer with whom Richter worked closely. Indeed, Richter’s success inspired Arthur Rubinstein’s ten-concert Carnegie Hall marathon the following season. The series yielded nine LPs, including two that only were released in Japan. Long treasured as rare collectors’ items, they appear here for the first time on CD mastered from the original analogue tapes.

Along with the December 26th Carnegie Hall recital brought out by RCA in 2001 as Richter reDiscovered, Richter’s December 28th Newark Mosque Theater recital receives its first integral release. The pianist’s 1960 RCA studio solo and concerto sessions, too, are justly acclaimed, and feature highly distinctive accounts of Brahms’s Second Concerto, Beethoven’s First Concerto, and three Beethoven sonatas.
Two RCA discs from 1988 concerts return to the catalog, revealing the veteran pianist’s undiminished power and concentration in Brahms’ early C major Piano Sonata, selections by Liszt, Etudes from Chopin’s Op. 10, plus a new recording of the Beethoven First Concerto. As a bonus, three Schubert works released in a 1977 Aldeburgh Festival anthology make their CD debut.

A sturdy box set of 18 CDs in cardboard sleeves with original cover art, this 2015 Sony collection of Sviatoslav Richter’s Columbia Masterworks and RCA Victor recordings is a valuable resource for admirers of the great Russian pianist. Prevented from leaving the Soviet Union in the 1950s, despite his growing international reputation, Richter finally came to the United States in 1960 for a marathon series of concerts. These recordings were drawn from his five dynamic performances at Carnegie Hall, a recital at the Mosque Theatre in Newark, and appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Charles Münch. Also included with these landmark performances are two studio albums Richter made for RCA, and a special 1988 live recording he made with Christoph Eschenbach and the Orchestra of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Because most of these recordings have only been issued as original vinyl pressings that have been unavailable for decades, this set is an essential item for collectors of Richter’s rarities. -Review by Blair Sanderson

Tracklist:

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major op. 2/3
1 I Allegro con brio 9:49
2 II Adagio 7:27
3 III Scherzo. Allegro – Trio 3:14
4 IV Allegro assai 4:38
Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major op. 14/1
5 I Allegro 6:21
6 II Allegretto 6:16
7 III Rondo. Allegro comodo 3:06
Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major op. 26 “Funeral March”
8 I Andante con Variazioni 6:36
9 II Scherzo. Allegro molto – Trio 2:45
10 III Marcia funebre sulla morte d’un Eroe. Maestoso Andante 5:42
11 IV Allegro 2:48
Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major op. 54
12 I In tempo d’un Menuetto 5:47
13 II Allegretto – Più allegro 5:14
Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor op. 57 “Appassionata”
14 I Allegro assai – Più allegro 9:52
15 II Andante con moto – attacca 5:54
16 III Allegro, ma non troppo – Presto 7:34
Encores