Sviatoslav Richter plays Beethoven Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op. 2, no. 1 (2/3)

[hyotao]

I love S. Richter.

[vivascargill1]

sorry to inject politics-- I saw him play 2 times he was not lie other soviet artists who fled to "freedom" (ie money)--he would play in the smallest towns and villages in the USSR not jus Moscow or Leningrad so ordinary people could hear his great art--no matter what your politics THAT is a noble thing to do!

[paganviodio]

...if you listen any prokofiev sonata by richter, then you know what i mean...here he apperas to me, to hold himself back from being to direct....whoch is very good for a second movement of this sonata.

[paganviodio]

this is that´s why better than gould, because richter understands the beethovenian poesie better, and the lines are better thought, and performed than the gould version. technically it is also comparable. richter has a diffirent touch on piano as gould. he actuall has more direct hit on the piano key than here, then he tries to draw the musical atmosphere romantically.

[999Arcanine]

These pieces are especially hard for immature people to play, since it requires a lot of focus and self-control, and it's long!!!!!!!

[Troublechix]

I like Gould

[meredith218461]

Richter conveys the classical poise of this mvt perfecfly.

[pschymit]

Just brilliant! 

[rapators]

I prefer Richter to Gould

[lovethepiano]

I don't know but this mono sound makes it all the more intrigueing to listen to. Like watching an old black & white movie. 

[TeQuiLLaXY]

I like his tempo and dynamics. Absolutely incredible performance

[singer12456]

It's simply brilliant indeed. I Thing Richter plays asa well as Gould.

[mal8739]

The thing I love most about his playing - and I have said this before - is his balance. The balance between right and left hands. The only one remotely close to him is Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. I can identify his playing from a thousand others. I have tried for seventy years and cannot come within ten million light years of him.

[stevenryhudi]

@mal8739 Thanks for bringing my attention to the balance.

[chad410]

tender yet strong in spirit

[MagicDonDino]

Gould is my hero but this is still wonderful!!1

[gerryrains]

Why don't we take a poll. I'll bet Richter wins and you can bet on Gould.

[MagicDonDino]

would be interesting!

Gould forever!

[gerryrains]

Doubtful. I asked four friends of mine who are professional pianists to list their top 5 and their second five. All four of them, and I, picked Richter, Josef Hofmann, and Gieseking in the top 5. Other names making at least one top five were Horowitz, Rachmaninoff, Moiseiwitsch, Sofronitsky, and Godowski. I chose Rachmaninoff and Benno Moiseiwitsch along the three unanimous selections.

Somehow, however, nobody picked Gould for either the first five or the second five.

[MagicDonDino]

This is very interesting! But I am a big fan of Gould, although not professional pianists mentioning for me remains one of the greatest of all time! I would like to add a name: Ashkenazy

[galanski]

@gerryrains

No Gould, No Arrau, No Solomon, No Fischer? All five of you are mad!

[BassicStorm]

@MagicDonDino Richter is 10000 times better than Gould