During his lifetime, legendary pianist Sviatoslav Richter’s reputation was built on early studio recordings and, more and more from the 1960s onward, live recordings that captured the sound of an virtuoso whose formidable technique summoned insightful and formidable interpretations in a wide repertoire. Starting in the mid-1990s, Leslie Gerber launched a CD series focusing on previously unknown and little-known recordings of Richter made during the 1950s in then Soviet Union, the decade before his triumphant Western debut and instant leap to international acclaim. The series introduced previously unrecorded works to Richter’s discography and revealed interpretations that were sometimes strikingly different than his later performances.
In this third collection of Richter rarities drawn from the Parnassus “Richter in the 1950” series, the focus in on virtuoso Russian romantic repertoire of the 19th and early 20th century – music with clearly resonated with Richter from early in his career to the end. These bold, extrovert, and dramatic interpretations do justice to this sometimes under-appreciated repertoire.
