He's not even sitting on a piano stool, I can't believe they put this dining chair on the stage haha. And the piano quality is somewhat questionable at best. But I'm left speechless at his performance. Richter's signature powerful touch that "squeezes" the sound out of the piano, while still keeping articulation intact.. And that ending!
Chairs are/were used quite often at the piano in Europe. It’s not necessarily a dining chair - some are adjustable and designed specifically for the piano.
More people should watch this. This is almost superhuman what Richter does there. If you play the piano or read music, you can understand how insane the playing is here. I've heard this played by a very competent pianist and this sounds like a completely different work. Even if you were to just pay attention to his technique, which is miraculous; that would be amazing enough. He then combines that though, with a deep understanding of the music and it becomes much more than just a performer playing the piano. It's hard to describe, but you know when it hear it.
Very true indeed. I played this piece and the most hardest thing for me here was to combine the technical difficulties with the actual sound and soul of this piece... No one can beat Richter though.
I agree with much of what you say but I do no think 'insane' is quite the right word. Often there is a great and deep sanity in the thoughts expressed by Richter which becomes ever more evident as the modern world becomes ever more divorced from all sanity.
John Smith well said. Richter offers artistic insights into the beauties and difficulties of life in said performances, such as this one. I also find Richter to be quite trenchant in his performances of Beethoven
That’s some heavy metal piano the last few minutes are crazy. Wow!! Richter had some serious power. He looks tense, but I think that’s an illusion. I don’t think it’s possible to play this piece with too much tension. That would cripple your ability to play the technical requirements, and musical. It’s a tense piece especially at the end. It should sound that way.
@@wolfgang4067From the little I know of his story, the death of his father was an enormous blow to him. There's much more to the story, but it's one of sadness and betrayal.
As a student in the early 70`s Richter was my inspiration and to this day still is. This video of the greatest pianist of the twentieth century is fantastic. The technique required to play variation 13 alone is quite staggering. I have found the entire video educative and inspiring.
AS VARIAÇÕES SÉRIAS DE MENDELSSOHN FORAM COMPOSTAS EM 1841, E DESDE ENTÃO, SE TORNOU UMA PEÇA DE FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTÂNCIA DO ROMANTISMO, E FAZ PARTE DO REPERTÓRIO DE GRANDES PIANISTAS. A MELHOR INTERPRETAÇÃO DESTA PEÇA, CONTINUA SENDO DE VLADIMIR HOROWITZ. OBRA DE RICA HARMONIA, E DE TÉCNICA APURADA.
..how great,richter plays mendelssohn,probably the same sampler as in 'the enigma'. thank you very much for posting the whole 'variations serieuses'. amazing!
ho ascoltato questo medesimo pezzo dell'elegante virtuoso del piano Mendelson, suonato anche da Brendel, Zimmermann e Richter.. sono tutti costoro grandi maestri ed è molto difficile che io possa trovare in loro dei difetti o delle carenze ma ho notato che Rosita Renard suona questo pezzo con mascolina energia e foga mentre Brendel con femminile precisione e leggerezza.. amo molto la tecnica di Brendel e trovo che, per suonare Mendelson, che era un elegante e un Maestro di grande olimpica serenità - (Casella ne Il Pianoforte ) - sia assai più calibrato ed in tono... con mio modestissimo parere.. e ringrazio chi ha postato questo brano e tutti questi grandi Maestri che l'hanno eseguito... I heard this same virtuous elegant piece of Mendelssohn piano also sounded by Brendel, Richter and Zimmermann .. are all these great teachers and it is very difficult that I can find in them some defects or deficiencies but I noticed that Rosita Renard plays this piece with masculine energy and enthusiasm while Brendel with feminine precision and lightness .. very love of Brendel technique and I find that, for playing Mendelson, who was an elegant and a great Master in Olympian serenity - ( Casella in Il Pianoforte ) - is much more calibrated and in tune..... with my modest opinion ... .. and I thank those who posted this piece and all these great Masters who have performed ...
I heard even now Alicia de Larrocha and I find she remarkable interpreter of this piece, combining precision and passion, with a touch very firmly and precisely but incisive
What a superb performance with no affectation, no unnecessary rubatos, and ritardandos where not indicated. Only the second variation was played too fast. After all, Mendelssohn has written UN POCO piu mosso. But many other pianists have done the same thing. Love Richter. Thank you for uploading this great performance to You Tube.
The Richter videography states that this was filmed in Moscow on April 22nd,1964 along with Rachmaninov's prelude op.32,no.12 and etude tableaux op.39,no.9.All of these are on YT and are brilliant performances.
Richter is so incredible. such austerity in his technique. he really paces his pieces out evenly. not to sound antagonistic but i find his heavily regimented approach to piano ungraceful yet extremely suited to these precision pieces. great footage! thanks for the upload.
На самом деле это запись концерта 64-го года лауреатов Ленинской премии, а такое могло быть только 22-го апреля. Среди прочих выступавших был также Давид Ойстрах. Запись его выступления тоже существует. В тот вечер Рихтер сыграл также Рахманинова Etude Tableau in D, Op.39/9 и на бис - Prelude in g-sharp, Op.32/12 . Записи существуют.
@@tatianagrig9120 о чем речь, если на похоронах самого Сталина, как рассказывал Рихтер, его пригласили играть, у рояля педаль не работала. На похоронах Сталина, черт побери.
Arm hand everything in perfect order. Then comes Cziffra and take is on another level, as if one could have thought it could even be possible. With his hands like tree roots...
Why does everyone play Var. 12 "Tempo del Tema" at least 50% faster than the "Tema"? Interesting, @musicalraymond, what you say about Var. 13. You're right, of course, but I find others much more difficult to play. Everyone probably has his favourite challenges.
@@Panzerino02 Вы будете просвещать меня, побывавшего на 22 концертах Рихтера в СССР?! В вечерних концертах он выступал с бабочкой и во фраке, а позже - только в смокинге. Так он чувствовал себя свободнее. В дневных концертах он выступал в костюме, чаще всего синем, и с галстуком.
Picking up on a couple of the comments below: "emotionless"? Certainly not in the slow variations, but in the fast ones Richter, as so often, tends to go into machine-gun mode, apparently playing as fast as he can with little regard for the musical line. "One of the best endings in music"? It's certainly wonderful ... or it should be, except that everyone, Richter included, plays it half the notated speed; and no rall. or rit. is marked. Surely, it should vanish like a shadow? Now I'm going to listen to Ms Renard ... Thanks for posting.
Who gives You the Right and Do you have the Knowledge to criticize Richter one of the best Pianist and Musicians of 20 Century or any "Big" Pianist(Instrumentalist) ? Be happy to have the opportunity to listen to this Magic and if you dont like it, listen 100 or 1000 times until you understand his Vision and like it. Without Humility and great Respect it is totaly impossible to really understand and to really deep enjoy such interpretations and music.
Rectified, it is a very good version, some small mistakes but good performance...but I insist that the version of Rosita Renard is absolutely unbeatable...
There's nothing worse than listening to a serious piece of music, than a load of variations on a piece of serious music. Morbid Mendelssohn, morbid Richter. Switch over to Liberace, if you want some real entertainment.
