COMPOSERS: Prokofiev
LABELS: DG Originals
WORKS: Piano Concerto No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat; Vision fugitive No. 3; Vision fugitive No. 6; Vision fugitive No. 9
PERFORMER: Sviatoslav Richter (piano) Warsaw National PO/Witold Rowicki
CATALOGUE NO: 449 744-2 ADD 1959-65
The main works on this disc provide a challenging Prokofiev double bill from his master-interpreter. In the fascinating Fifth Piano Concerto, Richter flies through the air with the greatest of ease, supported by the rainbow-coloured safety net of his colleagues; listen several times and, to paraphrase the composer, the outline of a real face – intelligent, wise and witty – will emerge. The heartbreaking Eighth Sonata merits this magisterial performance, charting the work’s painful privacy with poised concern. The bass still isn’t ideally vivid; but it remains my own choice of desert-island piano recording. David Nice
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5; Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat; Vision fugitive No. 3; Vision fugitive No. 6; Vision fugitive No. 9
The main works on this disc provide a challenging Prokofiev double bill from his master-interpreter. In the fascinating Fifth Piano Concerto, Richter flies through the air with the greatest of ease, supported by the rainbow-coloured safety net of his colleagues; listen several times and, to paraphrase the composer, the outline of a real face – intelligent, wise and witty – will emerge. The heartbreaking Eighth Sonata merits this magisterial performance, charting the work’s painful privacy with poised concern.
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:30 pm