Schumann Concerto A Minor 1st Mov Pt 1 Richter-Haaser

This is not your usual paint by the numbers performance. Discerning listeners will understand why I came to that conclusion.
If I were able to produce a CD entitled, The Other Great Pianist of the Twentieth Century, Hans Richter Haaser would be, along with Egon Petri, among the pianists that I would include. Richter-Haaser ( 1912-1980--Germany) studied piano at the Dresden Music School .By the age of 18, he was playing concerts all over Germany. WW 2 interrupted his career and he was assigned to an antiaircraft unit. Because of these circumstances, he did not touch a piano (other than playing in military hospitals) for seven years. He resumed his career in 1946, at 34, and discovered that even though his technique had become rusty, his musical perception was far sharper than it had been before. Richter-Haaser said, "Before, the piano was a sport. After the war, it was a medium to give something to people." One critic wrote of his US debut in 1959 that Richter-Haaser was the type of pianist who could pull the listener in by the hair, letting the notes fall where they may. The critic wrote, "Richer-Haasers postwar reputation spread rapidly; he has played with virtually every major European orchestra, been hailed as the successor to such great German pianists as Gieseking and Backhaus. Says Richter-Haaser ruefully: 'I do not go on stage to play wrong notes. But the important thing is the idea. The piano must not be like a machine.' "

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Schumann
• Concerto
• Minor
• Richter
• Haaser
• Pt

[snaaptaker]

2) At Town Hall, among other pieces, which I can't remember, he played Petrouchka and (IIRC) the Appassionata. At Carnegie Hall, he played the Brahms Bb Concerto, and his LP of that is still one of my favorites, 50+ years later.

I can't believe it's taken me two years to stumble upon this posting of the Schumann.

Thanks, much--it's lovely.

[snaaptaker]

1) Good heavens--Richter-Haaser!! I'd almost forgotten about him. I was present at his U.S. debuts, first at Town Hall and then, shortly thereafter, at Carnegie Hall. And, BTW, that NY critic was correct. R-H was wonderful. I remember saying at the time that he was sorta like Rubinstein, but with more schmaltz. That may have been a bit over-the-top, but 20-year-olds think they know everything. (cont.)