The greatest Beethoven pianist of the 20th century?

[Maurice Colgan]

Hello everyone. Greetings from Ireland.

Barenboims Televised Master Classes on Beethoven's Sonatas were a joy to listen to, and watch!

Richter was a great pianist. His version of the Beethoven Appassionata is magnificent.

[Peter]

Hello everyone. Greetings from Ireland.

Barenboims Televised Master Classes on Beethoven's Sonatas were a joy to listen to, and watch!

Richter was a great pianist. His version of the Beethoven Appassionata is magnificent.

Yes I also enjoyed the Barenboim masterclasses, although his own performances of the sonatas are not entirely my taste. Richter was superb - have just been listening to him in an amazing recording of a rarely performed piano concerto by Britten - the work itself deserves to be far better known.

[Maurice Colgan]

Hello Peter, I like Barenboim's approach to music.

My wife and I saw Richter perform the Rachmaninof Preludes in Manchester's Free Trade Hall 1974ish. They bought a New Bosendofer Grand piano for the Concert, but Richter declined to use it! :-) Perhaps the instrument was too new and stiff?

[Peter]

Hello Peter, I like Barenboim's approach to music.

My wife and I saw Richter perform the Rachmaninof Preludes in Manchester's Free Trade Hall 1974ish. They bought a New Bosendofer Grand piano for the Concert, but Richter declined to use it! :-) Perhaps the instrument was too new and stiff?

His preference in performance from the 1970s on was for Yamaha which is what you must have heard - strange as he owned 2 Steinways!

[Maurice Colgan]

His preference in performance from the 1970s on was for Yamaha which is what you must have heard - strange as he owned 2 Steinways!

No Peter. He played the Concert Hall's Steinway that particular night.

When we arrived to listen to the recital the Bosendoffer was onstage.
Richter strode over to it sat on the piano stool and ran his fingers along the keys (scales?) for a couple of minutes then stood up and without further ado walked off the stage!

Down went the Bossendoffer grand on the trap door. A few minute later up came the Steinway!

The world's greatest pianist then played the complete Rachmaninoff Preludes.

The audience clapped for a great length of time before Richter returned to the keyboard and gave a short encore.

We were sat high in the top balcony but we had opera glasses :-)

[DavidO]

No Peter. He played the Concert Hall's Steinway that particular night.

When we arrived to listen to the recital the Bosendoffer was onstage.
Richter strode over to it sat on the piano stool and ran his fingers along the keys (scales?) for a couple of minutes then stood up and without further ado walked off the stage!

Down went the Bossendoffer grand on the trap door. A few minute later up came the Steinway!

The world's greatest pianist then played the complete Rachmaninoff Preludes.

Thanks for sharing that wonderful personal experience! It helps bring the fabled Richter to life for us young'uns.

I'd love to be such a great pianist that a Bösendorfer concert grand doesn't measure up to my exacting standards!

Which leads me to a question for all us Beethoven lovers: He was, as we all know, such an extraordinary pianist & of course was the West's pinnacle composer. So what if you yourself could be one or the other (but ONLY one or the other). Which would you rather be? A great pianist or a great composer?

[Maurice Colgan]

Thanks David you are welcome.

We also saw Ashkenazy perform at the same place around about the same time. We had a friend in the ticket office :-)

Composer or Concert Pianist? What a cruel question! .............

The same artist??? Copy??? HELP!

I'm listening to the slow movement of the magnificent Seventh so my answer has to be.................. Definitely a Composer! But i'm cutting off my right arm! (I need my left to write the greatest Beethoven inspired music possible... if only I knew how!

[Peter]

No Peter. He played the Concert Hall's Steinway that particular night.

When we arrived to listen to the recital the Bosendoffer was onstage.
Richter strode over to it sat on the piano stool and ran his fingers along the keys (scales?) for a couple of minutes then stood up and without further ado walked off the stage!

Down went the Bossendoffer grand on the trap door. A few minute later up came the Steinway!

The world's greatest pianist then played the complete Rachmaninoff Preludes.

The audience clapped for a great length of time before Richter returned to the keyboard and gave a short encore.

We were sat high in the top balcony but we had opera glasses :-)

I've come across this Richter documentary dvd on Amazon if anyone is interested - I've ordered it myself and with a cheap price and good reviews it should be interesting.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Richter-Enig...8821925&sr=1-1

[Maurice Colgan]

Peter I have just been reading the Richter DVD REVIEWS and that got me thinking about exactly WHEN we saw Richter in Manchester. I found a list of Richters Concerts on google.com and he actually performed the Rachmaninoff Preludes in 1969!

So I was wrong about the date, and you are right about the Yamaha piano.

This oldie needs to renew some memory brain cells fast !!! The years just fly by now

[Peter]

Peter I have just been reading the Richter DVD REVIEWS and that got me thinking about exactly WHEN we saw Richter in Manchester. I found a list of Richters Concerts on google.com and he actually performed the Rachmaninoff Preludes in 1969!

So I was wrong about the date, and you are right about the Yamaha piano.

This oldie needs to renew some memory brain cells fast !!! The years just fly by now

Well Maurice, if it's any consolation Richter (despite possessing a legendary memory) had a few lapses in the late 70's and thereafter would only perform with the score in front of him. I thought you may have been right about the piano as it was only from the late 70's on that he insisted on a Yamaha.
Yamaha made available to Richter a grand piano and a piano technician both able to travel wherever he desired (now that's what I call 1st class service!).

[Maurice Colgan]

Thanks Peter, a gracious reply.

Yes the Yamaha people provided an excellent service to Richter.

We bought our daughter a Broadwood boudoir grand when she was about ten years old. She said, "I feel lovely all over", when she first saw it in our home.

Much later she bought herself a Yamaha :-)

[Tod]

...I have another complete set by Ashkenazy which I like very much but it is strangely neutral compared to the others (not necessarily a bad thing). However, it contains my favourite "Waldstein".
Michael

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the Ashkenazy performances on CD? I use to have them on cassette and loved them but I wore them out. I would have to place him as as fovourite along with Schnabel.

[Michael]

Does anyone know where I can get a copy of the Ashkenazy performances on CD? I use to have them on cassette and loved them but I wore them out. I would have to place him as as fovourite along with Schnabel.

I presume you have tried the usual places? I bought my set in 1990 or thereabouts so I don't know how available it would be today. There are some performances of individual sonatas on ebay, I think.

[Tod]

I presume you have tried the usual places? I bought my set in 1990 or thereabouts so I don't know how available it would be today. There are some performances of individual sonatas on ebay, I think.

Yeah I'd tried most places. All I seem to find are a couple of isolated sonatas as you mentioned. The whole set would be incredible if only I could find it...

[JA Gardiner]

I bought my Ashkenazy set fairly recently at HMV Oxford st, London for £31 and I'm sure I've seen it on Amazon.co.uk too - maybe you've a Pom relative you could ask to bring it over