Richter's mastery in Beethoven's late sonatas is absolutely mesmerizing. No matter how many times one listens, every performance sounds newly and distinctively fresh, urgently communicated, and profoundly meaningful. It is as if Richter has entered into the tragic yet unflaggingly heroic despair of Beethoven's deafness, and recreates for us the great composer's questing inner journeys through the cosmos, searching for the affirmation of his transcendent art, and thus of the ultimate value of human life itself. Thanks again for sharing the incomparable artistry of this truly great pianist.
yusufu9 and thank you for such a wonderful comment that evocatively portrays the beauty of the composition and performance and the excellence of composer and pianist. muchas gracias y saludos desde Tokio.
tom d Thanks for your generous comment. For years I was actually somewhat reluctant to purchase Richter recordings, owing to my concern over the notorious coughing audiences, the low quality pianos he often had to play on, the poorly recorded sound of Soviet taping systems, etc. But the more I listened to his music here on youtube, I began to realize that his extraordinary musicianship transcended all these trivial considerations. Hope life is treating you well in Tokyo, a city I very much enjoyed visiting a couple of years ago -- such wonderful food and lovely gardens!
This is really stunning. Having listened to Richter's 1993 version many times, and found it to be an interesting documentation of his late playing style, I was unprepared for the wonderfully profound insight and poetry of this performance, the beauty of his tone the complete command and integration of overall structure and detail. I think this is both one of the greatest examples of Richter's art and of any recording of op 110.
Several of the commenters have brought up the second movement. They are trying to say that Richter plays it too slow. But if you know the music as well as Richter does, then you have other options. Some of us refer to this as the artist's privilege but there is an understanding that if the artist decides to alter the commonly expected tempo, that the reason for the choice would be evident and I believe that the way Richter plays the trio section is the implied reason. Because he has chosen a slower tempo, this trio section literally has more space between the notes so instead of the usual splash of notes, one has some idea of the structure of the trio as it has more than usual time to sound and resonate. So I think Richter's slower tempo makes sense. He does even better with the third movement. Best
Magnifique interprétation, chaque note est habitée, portée, vibrante, sans pathos mais avec une grande profondeur. La musique respire, avance, avec naturel, cela chante, cela pleure aussi. L'une des plus belles versions de cette sublime sonate op.110, qui tient vraiment de la confession intime, celle d'un Beethoven vieillissant, malade et confronté à de multiples problèmes. Les dernières mesures de la coda finale, après cette douleur incommensurable de l'Adagio, sonnent comme une sorte de transfiguration. Beethoven est une leçon de vie et de courage pour nous tous.
Думается, не эталон (что-то для копирования), А Р И Х Т Е Р . Брать за образец - пустое дело. Конечно, объективность, вкус как ни у кого. Но если вы хоть и не гений, а просто добросовестный талант, то будет у вас по-своему. Кстати, не желал профессорствовать, натаскивать консерваторских, разве чуть-чуть по выбору. И увы, не всегда, скажем так, удачно. Подражать, ей-богу, темперамента ни у кого не хватит. Может, Мария Юдина, этот Бетховен в юбке, по слову Ахматовой. Но своенравна уж слишком, вкус даже отказывает. Плюс технические грешки... Потом ещё, не знаю, как сказать - грандиозность, масштаб художественной личности.
@@vadimvolkov7160 Ну, в исполнении бетховенских сонат Рихтер весьма близок к эталону (нечто идеальное). Конечно есть и такие предпочтения как циммерман. Тут уж как есть. Юдину сам СТР считал большим талантом, правда, игравшей всё наоборот.)
Beethoven ? Or 200 years of editors' errors and printers' faux pas ? And how do you judge ppp or mp ? Turn the volume down on your stereo. It'll be a cold day in hell before I listen to you rather than SR.
Richter is 50 years old here and would continue performing for another 30 years. What a special gift God gave us in Richter--and Richter gave us over so many years!
If only he could’ve recorded this in an era where a standard breakfast wasn’t a pack of Marlboros. I don’t recall there being too many coughs in Beethoven’s original Op. 110 score
Yeah I was gonna say it’s actually pretty fast, it’s just tough to count off since the rhythm of the scherzo is so purposefully syncopated and complex lol
I am asked to make a few music suggestions for a 5-year-old. His favourite composers are Bach, Haydn, and Beethoven and he hasn't had any music lessons (yet). What would you recommend, incontrario motu? This piece seems to me too long for him, and too advanced, although it wouldn't do harm, surely.
Unless your child is some sort of prodigy, don't even touch this. Start with the basics and build a solid foundation. Has he done any grades yet? What is his technique like? How passionate is he?
