Alexander Scriabin; Sergei Prokofiev; Dmitri Shostakovich - Piano Works (Sviatoslav Richter)

Information

Composer: Alexander Scriabin; Sergei Prokofiev; Dmitri Shostakovich

CD1:

1. Scriabin - Poème-nocturne, Op. 61
2. Scriabin - 2 Danses, Op. 73: 1. Guirlandes
3. Scriabin - 2 Danses, Op. 73: 2. Flammes sombres
4. Scriabin - Vers la flamme, Op. 72
5. Scriabin - Fantaisie in B minor, Op. 28
6. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29: 1. Allegro molto sostenuto
7. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29: 2. Andante assai
8. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29: 3. Allegro con brio, ma non leggiero
9. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82: 1. Allegro moderato
10. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82: 2. Allegretto
11. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82: 3. Tempo di valzer lentissimo
12. Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82: 4. Vivace

CD2:

1. Prokofiev - 10 Pieces, Op. 12: 6. Légende
2. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 3. Allegretto
3. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 4. Animato
4. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 5. Molto giocoso
5. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 6. Con eleganza
6. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 8. Commodo
7. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 9. Allegretto tranquillo
8. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 11. Con vivacità
9. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 14. Feroce
10. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 15. Inquieto
11. Prokofiev - 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22: 18. Con una dolce lentezza
12. Prokofiev - 4 Pieces, Op. 32: 1. Danza
13. Prokofiev - 4 Pieces, Op. 32: 4. Waltz
14. Prokofiev - 6 Pieces from the ballet Cinderella, Op. 102: 3. Quarrel
15. Prokofiev - 3 Pieces from the ballet Cinderella, Op. 95: 2. Gavotte
16. Prokofiev - 10 Pieces from the ballet Cinderella, Op. 97: 3. Autumn Fairy
17. Prokofiev - 10 Pieces from the ballet Cinderella, Op. 97: 6. Oriental Dance
18. Prokofiev - 6 Pieces from the ballet Cinderella, Op. 102: 1. Grand Waltz (Cinderella and Prince)
19. Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87: No. 14 in E flat minor
20. Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87: No. 17 in A flat major
21. Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87: No. 15 in D flat major
22. Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87: No. 4 in E minor
23. Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87: No. 12 in G sharp minor
24. Shostakovich - 24 Preludes & Fugues, Op. 87: No. 23 in F major

Sviatoslav Richter, piano

Dates: 1992 (CD1 1-5), 1989 (CD1 6-8), 1966 (CD1 9-12), 1979 (CD2 1-18), 1963 (CD2 19-24)

Label: Philips (reissue by Decca as Richter The Master Volume 3)

http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4758130

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Review

This two-disc Decca set of Sviatoslav Richter's 1963 Shostakovich recordings and his 1993 Scriabin and Prokofiev recordings is a re-release of the same recordings in the same order as they appeared in Philips' 1994 Richter Edition. For those not already familiar with the performances, the Scriabin and Prokofiev performances here are among Richter's best in the repertoire. Nobody, not even Horowitz, ever made Scriabin's rhapsodic tempos and voluptuous harmonies sound so inspired, and nobody, not even the composer himself, could out-perform Richter in Prokofiev's muscular piano writing. And his Shostakovich performances are even better. Strong-willed, clear-eyed, and steel-fingered, Richter reveals giddy heights and abysmal depths in the preludes and fugues that even the composer seems not to have known were there in his own recordings.

It must, however, be acknowledged that Richter's choice of repertoire and programming is typically eccentric. For Prokofiev, he picks one of the 10 Pieces, Op. 12; 10 of the 20 Visions fugitives, Op. 22; five of the 10 pieces excerpted from his Cinderella Suites, Opp. 97 and 102, plus two of the lesser-known sonatas (No. 4 and No. 6) and all four of the hardly known Pieces (4) Op. 32. For Shostakovich, he picks five of the well-known 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87, but completely switches around their order. For Scriabin, he picks one very early, very Chopin-esque piece -- the Fantaisie, Op. 28 -- and four very late, very decadent pieces -- the Poème-nocturne, Op. 61; the Deux danses, Op. 73; and Vers la flamme, Op. 72. Even for listeners who know the music and the performer well, the result is fresh and challenging. The live digital recordings of Scriabin and Prokofiev are big, close, and sometimes a bit harsh. The studio stereo recordings of Shostakovich are a bit hard and a tad distant, but very vivid.

-- James Leonard, AllMusic

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Alexander Scriabin (6 January 1872 [O.S. 25 December 1871] – 27 April [O.S. 14 April] 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. Influenced early in his life by the work of Frédéric Chopin, Scriabin composed works that are characterised by a highly tonal idiom. Later in his career, independently of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed a substantially atonal and much more dissonant musical system. Scriabin was influenced by synesthesia, and associated colours with the various harmonic tones of his atonal scale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Scriabin

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Sergei Prokofiev (23 April, 1891–March 5, 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor. He was one of the major composers of the 20th century. Prokofiev wrote 7 completed operas, 7 symphonies, 8 ballets, 5 piano concertos, 2 violin concertos, a cello concerto, and 9 completed piano sonatas. Many of his works are widely known and heard such as: the suite 'Lieutenant Kijé', the ballet 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Peter and the Wolf''.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Prokofiev

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Dmitri Shostakovich (25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Russian composer and pianist, and a prominent figure of 20th-century music. Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Shostakovich's music is characterized by sharp contrasts, elements of the grotesque, and ambivalent tonality; the composer was also heavily influenced by the neo-classical style pioneered by Igor Stravinsky, and (especially in his symphonies) by the post-Romanticism associated with Gustav Mahler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Shostakovich

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Sviatoslav Richter (March 20 [O.S. March 7] 1915 – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet pianist known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Richter probably had the largest discography but he disliked the recording process, and most of Richter's recordings originate from live performances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sviatoslav_Richter

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sviatoslav-richter-mn0000818152/biography

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