Repertoire-wise, there’s nothing new here for Sviatoslav Richter acolytes, with one significant exception. The pianist’s July 10, 1962 Kiev recital included Hindemith’s rarely heard First Sonata, a rather dour and longer-than-necessary tome in relation to the composer’s compact and concise Second and Third. Yet Richter’s melting legato phrasing and atomic, incisive rhythm (the second-movement march really cooks) manage to make the music sound more interesting than it is, a feat even Glenn Gould’s serious-minded studio traversal cannot claim. The same concert featured a fleeter and lighter Handel E major Suite than Richter’s lovely though heavier-gaited 1979 traversal (EMI).
By contrast, some listeners might prefer the suaver transitions and more settled, steadier rhythm of Richter’s 1979 Schumann F-sharp minor Novellete (Olympia) to this 1960 counterpart’s nervous, slightly scattered energy (a live Moscow version, also from 1960 and issued in BMG/Melodiya’s deleted Richter edition, is better controlled). Little distinguishes Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasie and Prokofiev’s Sixth Sonata from dozens of other Richter versions on and off the market: he always played these pieces extremely well.
Sharp wit, tonal refinement, and pinpointed characterization define Richter’s way with selected Prokofiev Visions Fugitives, and the marginal differences between both 1960 and 1962 Kiev performances have to do with detail rather than design. Collectors who know Richter’s ravishing, eloquent account of Haydn’s C minor Sonata from a 1960 Moscow concert (released on CD by the British Saga label) will appreciate the pianist’s similar Kiev reading, and regret the missing third movement (the tape doesn’t exist). Enticing fodder, all told, for Richter fans.