My passion is in the arts, and classical piano in particular. This channel is devoted to great and/or memorable performances which are worth highlighting from the recorded history of the instrument, all the way from the earliest recordings in late 1889 to our present time.
My posts here are meant to be a positive force for music, and do not intend to step on anyone's toes. If you need a video removed, please leave me a message and I'll tend to it at first opportunity.
These are from Richter's recitals in Prague 1975, and it seems you are the only one who has uploaded them here. Thanks! This is the best available Richter performance of these works.
Even Hamelin might've thought that the tempo indicated in the third movement is way too quick to perfectly execute on the modern piano... as the same as I thought.
These recordings show that Adelina de Lara was still an admirably clear and precise pianist even in her later years: certainly a credit to her excellent teacher! Thanks for posting these recordings: more people should hear them.
You picked some of her best recordings (though I do think that the Studies in Canonic Form Opus 56 work better on the original instruments they were composed for, or as a two-piano arrangement by Debussy). It is indeed a pity that these recordings were made well past her prime, but still, they give more than a glimpse into the real Clara Schumann-style, which you describe beautifully.
And that they all played them! The 4th and 5th pieces were cornerstones in the repertoires of both Davies, Borwick, Eibenschütz, and - evidently - de Lara. They must have been given them by Clara.
I heard him last year with a Bach, Bartok and Szymanowski programme; it was mesmerizing. In particular the partita in e minor which totally surprised me. Although clearly a "romantic" interpretation with a deep and broad tone, every voice was clear and nothing sounded heavy. He gave this encore as well.
Great pianist, truly wonderful playing. The last time I saw him play live was in the semi-finals of the Leeds piano competition in 2000. After an amazing performance of Beethovens Diabelli variations, he concluded the recital with Weburn's tiny op 27. With just two minutes of music left to play, he walked off stage because he thought he wasn't playing well enough!! Although he was disqualified, it never made any difference to his career because he is just so very good. Thank you sharing...
Thank you so much for posting this. I adore Sokolov's playing, but as a listener am often frustrated by his apparent distaste (or impatience) with the recording studio, which means one must rely on the kindness of strangers with recording equipment in their laps (!) to get a true measure of his artistry. So thank you again for that, and for the terrific essay as well.
I agree with you about RIchter owning the 5th - I think its appeal lies in the sensation of it being such a thrilling ride, so magnificently thought out and ultra-coherent from beginning to end. I would say that Richter's unparalleled sense of shaping a long-form piece (his teacher Neuhaus compared him to a hawk in this regard) is one of his most appreciated qualities... so maybe Richter's owning of the 5th may not be all that unthinkable (though the pairing of Richter's and Scriabin's names may seem kind of weird initially)
Sokolov really has about 15 different kinds of staccato he can just pull out whenever he wants huh? Somehow that doesn’t even end up being the most impressive part of the performance either. Thanks for sharing :)
Half Sokolov's Schumann I don't like, the other half I just love. It is a strange feeling to be ambivalent, because usually I love nearly everything he does
@@christian-johansson I love his Chopin. I think of him like a "maniérist" painter, a refined 8y old wizzard, truthful, eloquent like an actor on stage with a rewritten text. And Chopin is also so cerebral sometimes.
I had to smile about your comment... but of course, this is a characterful Romance, thinking of the dedicatee Amalie Rieffel, who, according to rumours, couldn't take her eyes off Robert :). Clara wrote: "she is always quite exalted [...] in a terribly excited mood" .... "Her character is as eccentric as her play. There is a restlessness in her playing that makes one fearful and anxious. She has quite considerable skill, studies diligently, you can hear it, she also has expression when a quiet moment comes over her, which is admittedly rare, but she rushes everything, she flies over the keys in such a way that not one note is like the other, and the fingers have acquired a strange unevenness of touch. I have told her all this, but I believe she can never be cured - just as her inside is unprecedentedly restless, so are her fingers".
This is truly a great performance by both pianist, conductor and orchestra. I particularly love the energy of the finale. The conductor gets the orchestra going with the same fervor of Volodos. The ending is the most exciting I’ve ever heard. Thanks for posting this. Will listen again…and again…
