a) Richter loved his audience, especially those who couldn't afford front seats. What you see as a "selfishness", is the highest respect and love any artist can only dream about. b) I'm sorry if you can't fully enjoy live performance because of cough. "These people" spent days and nights in a cold weather just to get tickets to Richter's recital. You have no idea about what "these people" went through for a chance to hear the great musician...
@@JoyAndWhimsy17 I think he meant that implying the audience is "selfish" by coughing is wrong as they had to endure the cold and discomfort to just listen to Richter. That's not "selfishness" but rather dedication, loyalty and love for the artist as they went through all that discomfort for him. But that's just how I perceive it
In post-war Sovjet, Richter toured in remote towns, sometimes playing on 3rd rate pianos. But his philosophy was: " I play on whatever piano destiny sends me." We should suppose that the flu- ridden audience here was accepted by Richter as destiny. A heroic stance!
Maybe they should have drank more vodka to relax those vocal cords! :) I must say the song is beautiful, but the amount of coughing is more than I have ever heard at any performance! Aside from that, Sviatoslav did a great job! By the way, the vodka comment is just out of fun! It really does sound like he is performing in a hospital though! I here very elderly people.
Ravel is a marvel, and Richter is a Titan ! As for the complaints concerning the audience noise, this was likely recorded at one of the many recitals Richter performed for students during flu season in Russia. My deepest gratitude goes out to truecript for this marvelous collection of Richter's work, it is a true treasure trove. And here is some great news, Sviatoslav may have returned to us. He may be performing these days under the alias Benjamin Grosvenor. If it is Sviatoslav he doesn't bother to disguise himself very well. Thank you truecript. CHEERS !
I once attended a concert given by a German pianist of great standing. It was the depths of winter and lots of people had colds. He was playing that wonderful G flat Moment Musical by Schubert. In the middle however he shouted at his noisy audience. Dead silence did ensue but the tension created by his outburst ruined the evening for me. I would never have attended another concert by this man if someone had paid me.
this recording is incredible, the warmth and richness of this piano coupled with Richter's flawless talent sends shivers down my spin; sublime interpretation, one of the best.
I went to a concert by Richter in Paris. I only wish I had been more aware of the spirits Ravel and Richter at thattime. It is now a great satisfaction to have the time to catch up during my retirement.
There does not worry the cough of the public... His music is so intense that it is the only thing that matters for me indeed...beautiful interpretation... Richter was in his own world... He was not listening to the cough of the people... It was too far... Painting the beauty... Thank you very much for raising this post!!
When asked about the title and who the dead girl was, Ravel replied as if channeling Gertrude Stein: I paraphrase: "There is no dead girl. I just liked how the two words Infante and defunte sound together." Weird.
He is also reputed to have said, "This is a pavane for a dead princess, not a dead pavane for a princess," ... in criticism of the piece being played too slowly. Richter's version is beautiful. For another wonderful interpretation, listen to Cherkassky (no coughing there).
Despite the coughing, this is still the best version on RU-vid. Only Richter truly makes me shed tears. I think this is the perfect tempo for this piano arrangement. A sensible mix of sadness, melancholy and fragile hope. My favorite on RU-vid along with "Jeux d'eau" also composed by Ravel and also interpreted by Richter.
..it is as if the canvas of the music portrays the height and breadth of emotion, and by his hands and his spirit he imbues such then with the width of expression and every color of passion...truly ecstasy for the entire being..
With all respect it has nothing to do with "morally sick" people! This is DECEMBER 1954, cold winter... People were waiting for days and nights in lines (in freezing temperature) to get tickets for this recital. They would get off the deathbed to hear Richter. Take it into account and forgive all those physically sick (but morally very healthy) people.
From the sounds of it, the princess is not dead, but is extremely ill with tuberculosis. It gives the piece an authentic sickbed ambience that actually works in a weird sort of way.
@@Vingul unfair! He sent me to some soulless midirecital of the same piece. Trying to make a wordplay on coughin' and coffin but all i got was this lousy intention!
I have to wonder if a musician such as Richter, with such intense concentration, utterly absorbed in the music, even hears the audience coughing every other measure.
One of the most beautiful performances of this piece that I have ever heard. Unfortunately for posterity, the audience seemed to be dying of some kind of coughing plague. But, the music is so beautiful, I just turn my COUGH SQUELCH setting way up and try to enjoy the ride.
what's amazing is how beautifully richter performs the piece in spite of it taking place in a sanatorium. if this had been keith jarrett performing the piece would have lasted apprx 15 seconds.
This is so beautiful, and Richter's playing transcends the coughing. Kinda funny; anyone else notice how in the picture, it looks like his raised hand is playing a second keyboard, where the cover is reflecting?
Whatever, apart from his immense personality ("life") + culture + intellectual & emotional background, Sviatoslav Richter was a damn hard-working & perfectionist musician. + he had more sense of design and "conception" than any other.
Ok, I couldn't stop laughing while listening to this incredibly beautiful performance of Ravel's Pavane while reading the bickering comments about the coughing, and listening to the coughing at the same time!-- Nevertheless Richter is amazing and it has inspired me to give it a whirl at the piano. Of course nothing like Richter but we can only try! Thanks for posting this great performance.
This was the best version I have heard of this piece. If only the the people performing today heralded by the press as geniuses could play any where near to this.
I know a bit more about circumstances in Russia during that period than you can imagine. I used to stay in those lines btw. You can stick to your opinion (very sophisticated to the core) and I'll gladly remain naive and ignorant.
This is probably the best piano recording of the pavane I’ve heard. Richter brings out the orchestration so well. Actually I need to find the original piano roll of ravel playing it now lol
I listened to his Schubert Sonatas and Live Concert in Leipzig and all the performances are completely different from each other, even in the style. This guy was amazing!
The incredible number of coughs recorded during this performance is only matched by the amazing & touching beauty of the performance itself (he-he, I know I get carried away, but I only recently began to listen a lot). :-))
I once attended a concert given by a German pianist of great standing. It was the depths of winter and lots of people had colds. He was playing that wonderful G flat Moment Musical by Schubert. In the middle however he shouted at his noisy audience. Dead silence did ensue but the tension created by his outburst ruined the evening for me. I would never have attended another concert by this man if someone had paid me. I should add that it was not Richter who was playing.
@truecrypt It is fantastic what you recover from those times. I am a fan of Richter (except that I don't like his Schubert) Finding this recording I am reminded that my piano teacher wants me to render this as an add-on after my recitals. That is not a problem as I have played this pavane since 50 years. I was always extremely fond of this piece. Many of Ravel's compositions I can not play, but this one is possible :)
DEFINITELy what I'm discovering through Richter ('s extraordinary recordings and his personality) is that he capable of making me happy and making me cry
A fiercely modernist 'found' duet for piano and cough. The dissonance of the second voice, set against the ineffable beauty of the Ravel, produces a striking effect: a paradoxical desire to do actual bodily harm one would never feel with louder, more persistent, unaccompanied coughing. 70 years later, fine music maintains its capacity to produce more coughing than the most virulent bacterium or virus. It is a sign of art's fragility amidst the not-so-still, sad music of humanity. Of course, the masterly Richter and most of that devoted but afflicted audience are well beyond the reach of any indisposition now. May they rest in peace, even if we can't.
This is one of the best recordings of this piece. I was dismayed by the coughing and blamed my fellow Americans, as I think we are a nation of boors. The coughing is unfortunate, but it was a little boorish of me to play the blame game. I hardly think it was deliberate, so I should have kept quiet on the matter.
The coughing effect was built into the piano. He operated it by depressing a specially adapted lever with his left elbow! Ravel left out the coughing instructions in a later draft...
Richter had an exquisite way of interpreting..which concordantly is a direct reflection of how the musical piece sounds to him or he hears it . His ability was uncany.
Richter plays without any pretentious hands, they just swim like fishes in the river of notes. Glen Gould said that he was nothing comparing to richter. The rythm of Richter is a visit of a masterpice.
Someone told me that this is not technically a sad piece. Actually, this piece is so peaceful. However, I think it showed the inner beauty and more important showed elegance of the princess. Beautiful beautiful one!
admittedly the coughing is somewhat of a distraction, but I still prefer this (as well as Gilels' live performance from Moscow, possessed of a truly otherworldly beauty) to countless clean and lifeless studio recordings
Marvelous. Almost eerie, not too slow, that 'divine fluidium' as Clifford Curzon once said about Richter's legato. As I use to say, I am your fan, truecrypt.
All snarking aside, it would be a great thing for this performance to be remastered and cleaned up. It's got such a basic solidity, for a piece with so much emotional shifting.
