Sviatoslav Richter plays Schumann Concerto in A minor Op. 54

[motherwellful]

spirited allegro affetuoso, yet flowing gradually and controlled to the cadenza heard many interpretations.....must rank highly.....perhaps what Schumann intended...hrrsfrdd

[MrsIsabellaa]

to be honest, it;s not my favorite music...

[cigtt]

i like both martha argerich and richter.... richter was probably a better pianist...but the best is dinu lipatti. hands down. for this piece at least. the emotion in it... is beyond words.

[awesomekapownoises23]

dont like marta argerichs... this is bvetter :)

[PSwildcat12]

the 4:04 and 4:23 mark give me chills

[topsycutesy]

Beautifully rendered by the Pianist and the Orchestra. It has the power to touch and move me to a subtler state of consciousness........

[musiclassic1]

Nice quality recording you got thar truecrypt. Excellent quality as usual

[AlexandreTERRAT]

probably the most perfectionist pianist of our time.

[ananoana9612]

can't listen to kadenza! I've seen 11 videos but can't listen full version! :(

[truecrypt]

@ananoana9612

check out Part 2 (watch?v=PP6TpBkR25k) around 3:25

[Feline132]

where's the end?

[Piyanistcan5]

I love the 0:00-8:14 part

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

"Lena Horne - Get Out Of Town"

stupid youtube

[dogtransport]

It would be nice if the parts were labeled in the titles.

[nimalakers24]

who whould dare dislike this

[Freenet2012]

Wspaniałe wykonanie! Jedno z najlepszych.

[Aliases1]

danke! das ist eine der besten Aufnahmen, die ich je gehört habe. Und Schumann ist sowieso der beste Romantiker gewesen!

Liebe Grüße

[jazztrmpter]

One of my favorites; I'm glad I've had the pleasure of accompanying some amazing pianists on it.

[asisecanta]

Why did Schumann clearly use a theme from Beethoven's Fidelio as main theme of this movement?

[vesperus1981]

@asisecanta Who is Florestan? Is it me? Is it you?

[LaDivinaAriell]

Superb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[paulostroff99]

Awesome.

[julesdarwich]

amazing

[AwtnNatn]

0:47-1:10 is so awesome... classical music like this will last forever

[stefthe80]

i think mozzart was tchaikovsky's favorite..but i get your point

[headmark915]

Schumann's music touches and affects me like nothing else can. For me, he is the one.

[woodstone61]

i agree !!

[idwiw6057]

@headmark915 thats what a little boy said about michael jackson

[kalduglun]

At 6:25 begins a passage that - to my opinion - strongly resembles for instance Rachmaninoff piano concertos style, especially the third one. But also perhaps Tchaikovsky, something from the russian school.

[truecrypt]

You picked up something obvious but not often mentioned... Schumann was Tchaikovsky's favorite! And Rachmaninoff used to say that "music has ended after Schumann and Tchaikovsky"! Strong musical/spiritual connections between these composers...

[MozartK365]

@truecrypt Rachmaninoff really said that?  I can hardly believe it

[titusbeertsen]

@MozartK365 Indeed, I recall that he regarded Medtner as the best composer (of his time at least).

[MozartK365]

@titusbeertsen I have never heard that name before...should check it out in Wiki...

[ilovefchopin]

i strongly agree !

the first time i heard this concerto i thought it was by rachmaninoff, i never thought it was a work by schumann!

[vanea99]

@kalduglun Yes!

[mltube]

As good as it gets.

[paulostroff99]

Great playing by a master. Bravo!

[peephole2008]

very close to my favorite Abbado/Pollini

[franjpleite]

Simply.. the best!

[franjpleite]

simply, the best.

[acer4me]

I am always amazed at the pedantic comments on performances of the great.

In the matter of tempi, I believe that Schumann's metronome was faulty.

[AnnMarry19]

Anybody have a notes to this piece? Sorry for my english...

[AnnMarry19]

thank you:)

[AnnMarry19]

Wonderfull!!!

[kyleclef]

martha argerichs is WAAAYYY better!

[truecrypt]

In WHAT way?

[parkdalerevo]

They're very different. Richter's manipulation of the tempi in this movement is really interesting, and Argerich doesn't try anything like this. What she does is also very beautiful, but I don't think it's reasonable to say that it's "waaayyy better".

[kyleclef]

i see what you mean, but i think the tempo changes he's made to the piece, do not create any more if not less atmosphere than hers, plus her playing is more graceful, to me (and believe me i listened to this with an open mind) his sounds clonky...(and i know that this is his interpretation, i do love richters piano playing, but if you change a piece, you should be very careful,,,not that i'm better than him, i just don't understand his version....

[MJTTOMB]

it's not his interpretation that gives it a clonky sound. it's the recording. this was recorded in 1958, before the dawn of effective microphone techniques. and argerich is a fantastic pianist. but really, richter is one of my favorite pianists, and to say that the inability of a recording engineer to do an effective job makes him any less brilliant of an interpreter is downright foolish..

[mario54671]

Well, you shouldn't really change the tempo of any piece anyways, there's a reason why it's marked a certain tempo, because the composer wanted it that way, that's how you play his/her work. If you don't follow that tempo, then you're not playing the piece, now you're making up something else...

[LaDivinaAriell]

@mario54671 lol. Glenn Gould seemed to think otherwise....go check out his interview on Mozart where he does exactly that, change the tempi. I'm not saying I agree with Gould. I'm just mentioning it for interest's sake :) I personally agree with your point that one should honour the composer's markings for the most while.

[mario54671]

@LaDivinaAriell Yep, I'm aware of that. :P

I don't listen to Glenn Gould EXCEPT when he plays Bach, he plays Bach like a genius.

Pianists like Richter and Horowitz at least stuck with (for the most part) the actual music itself. In Horowitz's case, when he "Didn't stick to the music" when he did his Liszt arrangement, at least he didn't simply call it "Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody", Glenn Gould plays Mozart and still calls it Mozart.

[Sim882]

Of the well recorded version on youtube, there is only a snippet of Argerich's which sounds pretty magical, not that this is bad

It was with Beethoven 1 Richters favourite concerto - amazes me he'd consider Beethoven 1 to be the best (it's inferior to 3-5 I thought clearly)

[sab3156]

@kyleclef Are you musically challenged?

[idwiw6057]

@sab3156 duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhh

[blargers123]

@kyleclef just because she had a more modern setting and visual, doesn't mean she's better. Technically speaking, Agerich is more flashy, but Richter's playing brings the soul out of the piece like no other pianist ever has or probably ever will.

[AnnMarry19]

I love this piano concerto ;)

[FranzofL]

Slightly brittle oboe for my taste... eh?

[kyleclef]

i agree, that oboist is killing the interpretation.

[DarkLouk]

I was speaking in general :) Just suggesting him for hearing (for those that don't know..) I think part 2.Repertoire and technique of Wiki's article for Vladimir Horowitz will know better than us. I personaly don't know much .. :)

[Sinfoniette]

But it would have been great if he did play the Schumann concerto.

[DarkLouk]

Check also - Vladimir Horowitz

[soami2u]

You must be mistaken--Horowitz to my knowledge never recorded (or ever performed in public) the Schumann Concerto. He had a very small concerto repertoire: Beethoven #5, Brahms #2, Tchaikovsky B-Flat Minor, Rachmaninov #3, and near the end of his life Mozart #23, and that was about it. Unless you know something I don't know!

[petie32]

Please don't forget the movie 'Vitus' with Teo Georgieu age 14 or so doing this. It is to cry.

(It is spectacular but not that difficult.)

[OrangeSodaKing]

are you referring to this concerto? The Schumann piano concerto is pretty tricky.

[soami2u]

Always be suspicious of anyone who describes a piece as "easy"--even the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" is difficult to do full justice to! The Schumann Concerto is NOT EASY. Child prodigies, please stay away!!! Try the Haydn D major instead!!

[kyleclef]

i'm 14 and i can play the schumann piano concerto (most the first movement, all the second, very little of the third)....not very well! although i'm not a child prodigy lol...people don't realise how hard 2:44 to 2:57 although i've only been playing this a few days...wish me luck!

[soami2u]

You're a very brave young pianist! All the best to you! The cadenza needs careful study...you have to "build" it, holding back 'til you get to ff...the Intermezzo (Andante grazioso) is pure poetry...the Allegro vivace is ALLEGRO, not Allegretto as some pianists have played it (possibly coming from Clara Schumann's indication of 72--it should go more like 88-92--it takes technique to play at that speed! All the syncopation makes it tricky, and soloist and accompanist have to stay together!)

[soami2u]

This concerto requires far more than just technique and a good mind. You must have the heart and soul of a true poet to do it justice. Hope you have a good teacher--and a good accompanist!

[kyleclef]

thank you very much, i really aprieciate your feedback, and will take it onboard :)

[toastybread14]

you've obviously never heard of Richter

[FranzofL]

I think this is a very difficult concerto! On the surface, I suppose the technique isn't that demanding, but even that is difficult, for example in the 1st movement, the animato, passionata sections, and the cadenza are quite difficult...

But the hardest thing about this concerto is putting the passion into the notes. You'd not realize it unless you are playing. It requires great musicality... And is quite difficult to make it beautiful and clean and sound good. It is NOT an easy concerto...

[ilovescarlatti]

Please hear also Michelangeli + Giulini .... super!!!!!

[soami2u]

For me the Schumann is the most beautiful piano concerto in the entire repertory. I have played this recording innumerable times on CD. Richter was a giant of pianists. Here he has found the right balance between passion and tenderness...a truly Schumannesque performance...Florestan and Eusebius. I still think his Fantasia, Opus 17, is the greatest I have ever heard on records.

[sab3156]

No need to even comment on this recording... Richter has always been the greatest of the Schumann performers.

[maryshelly92]

i'm playing this right noooow!!!!:)

it's a beauuutiful piece!and not so emotionally easy as it is technically.

loooove it!

[giornodimaggio]

thanks truecrypt

[callenishss]

where can i find old vids of this guy, when he was in his 30s or 40s, or if oddly enough, even 20s

[truecrypt]

You can see some of those rare videos here on YT.

[sab3156]

Hi callen: You won't find videos of his piano playing in the early 20s I don't think, as he in fact took up the piano in his early 20s.

[callenishss]

its amazing how much repertoire hes learnt

im personally about one third the way through practicing chopins complete repertoire.

what else do u recommend learning?

[sab3156]

Hey callen: Learn what you find to be attractive and go through it. Don't stick to one piece for too long, as it will begin to rot in your mind, and you will lose interest and it will become tedious like a technical exercise. Also, make sure (if you have a teacher) that your teacher is monitoring your progress and allowing you to develop your musicality as well as your technique. Take a deeper interest in studying music theory and composition as well as learning counter-point very well.

[callenishss]

thanks. im currently learning new material every day, and also i know the aeolian scale and associated composition like the back of my hand (celtic music etc). i need to work on technique and also get a higher level teacher but i have no money at the moment...

[supermanifold]

what, precisely, constitutes 1/3 of Chopin's complete repertoire in your mind?

[1l1v32d13]

It has been said by many but will not never be a cliche Sviatolav Richter is one of the greatest pianist's of our time as he brung with him his passion and love for classical music that breathed life back into the works written by the timeless master's who gave them life a fine artist he was I dont think ill comment on his performance it speaks for itself.

[paulostroff99]

Stunning! Bravo! TY.

[enantiodrom]

Suonata così la caduta degli accordi delle primissime battute, ha seriamente l'apparenza di avvicinare un nuovo genere, il concerto, congedando a piene mani, l'indipensenza del pianoforte. La storia...che potenza.

[billyguns2]

Richter is my favorite player of Schumann; there has rarely been as ideal a collaboration between composer and performer, IMO. This and the Myra Hess/Schwarz recordings are my favorites of this elusive piece; Rubinstein/Krips has its moments too.

[soami2u]

Some other great ones, I think: Lipatti (maybe the best of all), Moravec (FABULOUS 1st mvmt. cadenza), Kovacevich, Novaes, Zimmerman, Pires, Andsnes. The Hess version is beautiful, but 3rd mvmt. is too slow. Check out her earlier (late 30s) and in my opinion better version on Naxos.

[gerryrains]

I own this recording on CD. The conductor is Witold Rowicki and the orchestra is the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition the recording was in October 1958. A marvelous CD, it includes the Introduction und Allegro appassionato G-major op. 92, Richter WNPO cond by Stanislaw Wislocki, Novelette F-major op. 21, No. 1, Toccata C-major op. 7, and Waldszenen op.82 If it's still available it is a must-buy CD.

It's on DG 'The Originals'.

[pianopera]

Didn't know this one, thanks, very valuable contribution...a Russian conductor + orchestra?

[truecrypt]

Cond. Rowicki, Warsaw NPO (National Polish Orchestra?)

[paulostroff99]

pianopera-Hello, Wislocki could not even be more Polish a name -had he chosen it himself.

[uo12345678910]

amazing!