Here is a new touchstone piece in the discography of the great Soviet pianist, after several albums already released by the same label. Recorded in concert in Moscow, Leningrad (now St Petersburg) and London between 1948 and 1963, this new, important corpus of recordings contains 29 never-before-heard pieces of the hundred-odd pieces presented here. Just two composers, Liszt and Chopin, received invitations to this musical party, with several works in several versions, the fruit of numerous recordings. Not a single crumb is neglected: this is an opportunity to enjoy the thousand and one facets that set apart an exceptional musical talent with all the fantasies and variations that one would expect of a great pianist.
First of all, we have two different versions of two concertos (with Kondrashin and Ančerl), the Années de pèlerinage, and a selection of Études including the mind-bending Feux follets. Next up, a substantial selection of fourteen Études, the four Ballads, the Barcarolle and compilations of Waltzes, Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Polonaises and Scherzos which provides an overview of this artist with a volcanic temperament, often lofty, and inspired by a great breath of romanticism.
As a bonus, we have the complex 2e Sonata by Szymanowski, a composer for whom Sviatoslav Richter spent his life as a prominent advocate, most of all here in this monumental sonata, which he brought to his many audiences over fifty years. © François Hudry/Qobuz