Schumann - Toccata op.7 - Sviatoslav Richter

[dexterityhunter]

3:41 - development section begins: glasses off, please !!!

[Chicken937]

Abilty to take 12 is not an enormous phenomenon-Rachmaninoff,Van Clibern,Volodos(?), Berezovsky,all of them could do the same.It's just an attribute of technical skills. For me his playing here is too heavy and serious,it's not the game it becomes like Beethoven's symphony(especially his growling sforzando,almost like Beethoven).It always seems that Richter deliberately hides his own idea of piece for the sake of authentiс conception. Commendable intention that not always leads to good result

[Ianthe22]

@Chicken937 Think you are right on the first half of your comment. Age catched on to him? That's my explanation for his play. I think his early and midlife recordings are a lot better.

[choppinliszt]

perfect tempo!!

[kuglagerfeld]

Well , we all know how Richter can play this Tocatta. This time he was probably too busy playing another 44.564.565 repertoires so he didn't have time to practice. Still he is a master, even with false notes.

[Pourqouis]

The best performance ever! The rest interpreters do it to fast.

[12345qazx1]

horrible grand piano.

[rankfrankrank]

was he always a yamaha artist?

[pianocommy]

No, there's a rumour that he bore a grudge against the Steinway company.

Although Richter often enthused about Yamaha pianos, the concert Yamahas that he played are nothing like the weak, metalic, mass produced Yamahas that are everywhere these days!

[sam0xin]

@rankfrankrank NO ! He NEVER choose the instruments ! NEVER ! There is no bad instruments...there is a bad performers...he says in documentary about him.

[paganviodio]

@rankfrankrank sir he played all kind of pianos....this famous record of the chopin etude no.4 was played on a "wall piano" not even a concert instrument. but this didnt bother him at all... he always said, there are no bad instruments, but bad players....

[petie32]

There are better, but this is still world class.

[pinnock1000]

I hate this viedeo!

All the quiet parts are played loud and he also did many mistakes. E.g. 6:17

[berlinzerberus]

although richter went into the mature years the interpretation of the toccata is still full of expression and power.those "sound-waves" he creates are tremendous and without comparison.

[ahern112]

I sort of surprise myself. I like Pogorelich's much more. It seems like Richter really can't handle the massive sound he wants and the technique of the piece simultaneously. The result seems almost sloppy.

[spadiu]

che espressione ieratica!! che carisma !! che musica!!!!

[ipublica]

Sit down at the piano and play the first ten measures, and you will know ... the tensions in the hand are immense, not for Richter but for the rest of the world ... Richter could grasp a 12th, most pianists being happy to get a 10th from C to E not to talk about a tenth from A to C#. Schumann had small hands, he surely couldn't play his own composition. He had to wait in the grave to watch a Richter play it long after his death ...

[TripleRhu]

@ipublica His hands were broken too.

[leongatha6]

@TripleRhu Unfortunately, Schumann crippled himself by trying to "stretch" his own hands with a mechanical contraption he devised.

[PianoQuasiForte]

He is simply the best...

[TheOneWingAngeI]

i cant believe some people think this is "just noise" (the other video had many people saying that)

its very beautiful though i can understand why some people might say its just noise

[bludika]

some ppl think its too much of banging but i think its powerful

[imusiciki]

This is one amazing performance! I love the part when someone takes off Richter's glasses LOL!!

[bludika]

lol yeah ive never seen it before

[chad410]

yes.lol