Although Sviatoslav Richter’s June 11, 1967 Royal Festival Hall recital has not previously been released commercially, none of the repertoire is new to the pianist’s immense discography. Nor do the performances offer striking differences alongside previously released Richter interpretations of similar vintage, except that the sonic quality is relatively fuzzy and drab. For example, the transparent and supple Haydn E-flat sonata and powerfully soaring Weber A-Flat sonata barely differ from the far better engineered live contemporaneous versions included in Philips’ 1994 Richter Edition (reissued by Decca).
Much as I admire Richter’s impetuous turns of phrase and unbridled energy in the two Schumann Noveletten, I prefer the sterner control and more unified tempo relationships Richter effects in his beautifully engineered live 1979 versions originally released by JVC. While the pianist’s tendency to push Chopin’s Barcarolle ahead in certain sections is evident (the slapdash transition into the final pages and the coda, for example), the opening and middle sections sing out with unusual yet convincing rubatos.
Richter’s tonal magic and witty characterizations enliven the four Debussy Préludes from Book II; listen to him go nuts at the end of Feux d’artifice! Still, you essentially get the same interpretations in better sound via Richter’s complete Book II from a month later in Aldeburgh (type Q278 in Search Reviews). If sonic considerations don’t matter, and you’d like to hear Richter on close to prime form, then buy this disc. [10/27/2011]
