For the first time, four classic Prokofiev recordings by towering virtuoso Sviatoslav Richter are available on one must-have disc, newly remastered by Paul Arden-Taylor!
“Sviatoslav Richter‘s peerless 1959 performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 5 boasts razor-sharp playing from the Warsaw Philharmonic, and sounds remarkably vivid for its age. Recording quality throughout the rest of the all-Prokofiev programme, however, is more variable. Dynamic range is somewhat limited in the Second and Ninth Piano Sonatas, the latter work dedicated to Richter and here receiving a particularly affectionate and characterful interpretation. On the other hand, the mid-1950s version of the First Piano Concerto, has lost none of its sparkle and youthful energy.”
Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine, December 2023
“Richter was possibly the greatest Prokofiev pianist who ever lived. He had a unique way of unlocking the music’s pianistic beauty and poignant lyricism while still pushing its steel-edged rhythms to the proverbial max.”
–Classics Today
–Penguin Guide
[Highest rating] “Richter’s account [of Piano Concerto No. 5] is a classic. … It cannot be recommended too strongly … This concerto could have sounded contrived BUT when put over with the rhythmic bite, the technical aplomb, and the pungency of characterisations that we see here… a very different story!”
“Others’ [Piano Sonata N. 9] are too sentimental. … I really do connect with Richter the most in Prokofiev.”
–Talking Classical
