The Essential Richter 5 CD Set Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mozart, Weber

Description: The Essential Richter 5 CD BoxSet Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Franck, Liszt, Mozart, Moussorgsky, Prokofiev, Schubert, Schumann, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Weber. Disc 1 The Sofia Recital 1958 Disc 2 The Virtuoso Disc 3 The Poet Disc 4 The Philosopher Disc 5 The Mystic All discs have been checked and are in near mint condition. The jewel cases show some signs of wear. The outer cardboard sleeve shows some signs of wear. The photos form part of the description please message me if you need any further information. Free UK delivery only. I use global shipping services for overseas customers and I have no control over their prices. I have hundreds of new and used classical CDs being listed. REVIEWS Essential Richter, indeed! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2004 In 1994, Philips issued a large, 21-disc set containing many Richter recordings that had never been published before. The set is, at the moment, still available on Amazon, but the price is a bit unfair: $500 for 21 cd's is quite ridiculous, not? But if you're a real Richter zealot with lots of cash... For the poorer fanatics like me, there is this 5-cd compilation at a much better price. Philips has put the best gems of the 21-disc set together in this box. That's not entirely true, however: I've had some frustrations with the set which I'd like to state first before I go on praising the great man etc. Like Horowitz and in fact all other pianists in their final years, Richter's fingers were not entirely doing what he liked in the end. There's a famous quote from the end of documentary 'Richter, the Enigma', where the then 80-years old Richter comments on a recent performance of a Chopin Etude by himself: "I don't like myself". He was talking about the performance only, as it seems, but the statement is clear. Well, the fact is that when I heard the second disc of this set, named 'Richter, the virtuoso', it often reminded me of that comment. Richter's performance of the Chopin etudes on this disc is that of a pianist whose fingers can't listen to his head anymore. The performances are somewhat unsatisfying. And there are more examples. In this case I don't believe Philips' statement that it's the 'essential Richter'. It's annoying to have a great box with some errors inside. Yea, they were part of the later Richter, but that doesn't mean they should be released on cd. Richter should be honoured, not be mocked with! The later Richter also had many deeply serious, mystical moments that are far more interesting. Now we come to the real core of the box: a splendid portrait of this greatest pianist of all time. It's not only the performances themselves, but also the way they are presented. Richter has become an almost mythical person, and this box really adds something to the legend. First, there is the box itself. It is the most beautiful box I own, especially when seen from the backside. The many colours and the silver 'Richter-logo' on the front are from great beauty. Second, there are the photos. Each booklet contains some interesting pictures. There is one really extraordinary picture, which appears on the front of the fifth disc, called 'Richter, the mystic'. It shows Richter with a lonely face-expression, standing in a mysterious place with strange lighting. It is this photo in particular that reminded me of the old Richter we see in the aforementioned documentary 'Richter, the Enigma'. There, he appears to be a really tragic, mystical person in his final years, and this image can be seen everywhere throughout this cd-set. That photo, together with the performances of the older Richter, adds to his melancholic image. Whether it's true or not, I can't get rid of the idea. Then, what are those tragic-but-great performances? They are innumerable. The three discs in the set with the names 'The Poet', 'The Philosopher' and 'The Mystic' offer some of the finest piano playing in my collection, and nearly all recordings were made during Richter's last years. Although his fingers failed sometimes, he understood his music better than ever before. At 'The Poet', we get some perfectly silent Chopin preludes, rid of all pretentiousness and virtuosity. He also plays some hauntingly beautiful Liszt (Consolation no. 6, Harmonies du soir and Un sospiro) and great Schumann and Brahms. The Harmonies du soir, believe me or not, almost made me cry. Aaargh, fantastic! The 'Philosopher'-disc is just as impressive: here we can hear how Richter forever defines, among others, Beethoven's sonatas op.54 and 110, Bach and Mozart's fantastic Fantaisies, and Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie. But my favourite disc was the last one: 'The Mystic'. I tend to put this disc on when I arrive home very lately. The disc starts with one of the most mysterious moments of Western piano music: Liszt's Nuages gris. Richter is totally in his element in this piece. The piece becomes something like a meditation, no: it's a catharsis. If you don't feel like wandering between the grey clouds after you heard this... The other performances are mostly from the sixties, when Richter was about fifty. Whatever, he has always been great. This was the disc that put my attention to Prokofiev, after I heard the extraordinary Legende and the Waltz from the 6th sonata. Oh, and hear that Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue! Brilliant! Peaceful, even caressing music... But the greatest moment of the disc still has to come: Cesar Franck's Prelude, Choral and Fugue. This is not a very popular piece, but undeservedly: it is one of my absolute favourites since I heard Richter on it. Those absorbing waves of chords in the Choral... and the angry melody of the Fugue... and at last, the glorious conclusion of the Fugue... what a music! Richter plays it as if the music has been written for him, with great tonal colouring and instant changes of moods. Then there is the Beethoven op.111, which is not world-class level, but still intriguing. The disc finishes with glorious Scriabin. There are two other discs: on of them is the disc with some virtuoso pieces that wasn't my favourite (see second paragraph), but nevertheless interesting, and the other disc contains Richter's famous 1958 Sofia-recital (yes, the one with Mussorgsky's Pictures). This is a great disc too, and it's also available on its own. For more information on this disc, look at its own page at Amazon (I don't have any more space...) Altogether: a splendid view at Richter's later, melancholic years (also some recordings from the fifties) with many, many fantastic gems. My favourites are the Franck and Shostakovich, but really, you should check it out yourself. This set is, in one word, superb. Thanks for looking.

Price: 35 GBP

Location: Bridgend, The Vale of Glamorgan

End Time: 2024-11-24T13:39:08.000Z

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