@yuichituba and here I quote Richter (right from Enigma before he played this piece in Warsaw), "He (Shostakovich) was totally crazy too. I'm not saying I'm mad. I'm quite normal. Wish I were mad." That was the spirit.
@RabidCh I can see how the fugue is more mechanical, but even that is music. There's a way to play it musical, like instead of mechanical, playing it maniacal. And the Prelude is a scherzo, not for player piano.
It's meant to be mechanical, haven't you heard his Prokofiev? Same imagery.
I have a few recordings of this including Nikolayeva, and though I recommend Nikolayeva for the entire set, I prefer Richter's 1956 selection.
And of course it isn't controlled and has mistakes, it's a 1950s Russian live recording vs well recorded studio in the 1990s. Ever heard of retakes and splicing? And even Nikolayeva's technique isn't good enough to get through it cleanly.
@OMRLPdedicate The way I see it is that Richter always uses strict tempo, and shows everything without compromising it. What makes you think it that way may partly due to bad recording, and this version is not Richter's best recording of this piece anyway, but still, bravo.
I don't like this playing at all. It's dull, mechanical and tedious. Practically no tempo variation, totally flat dynamics for ridiculously long periods of time, and generally boring and unimaginative. Full of mistakes as well, and doesn't always sound especially controlled, especially in the fugue. Compare Tatiana Nikolayeva's Shostakovich playing and you'll know what I'm talking about.
We wish you a Merry Christmas? ...man I love Shostakovich!
DM1338 1 month ago
1:08 - 1:55 unbeleavable sound. irreal! how much i love shostakovic and richter!
klausknulp 6 months ago
@yuichituba and here I quote Richter (right from Enigma before he played this piece in Warsaw), "He (Shostakovich) was totally crazy too. I'm not saying I'm mad. I'm quite normal. Wish I were mad." That was the spirit.
XiyueDeng 11 months ago
He plays like he has no sense of humor.
yuichituba 11 months ago
@RabidCh I can see how the fugue is more mechanical, but even that is music. There's a way to play it musical, like instead of mechanical, playing it maniacal. And the Prelude is a scherzo, not for player piano.
yuichituba 11 months ago
@OMRLPdedicate
It's meant to be mechanical, haven't you heard his Prokofiev? Same imagery.
I have a few recordings of this including Nikolayeva, and though I recommend Nikolayeva for the entire set, I prefer Richter's 1956 selection.
And of course it isn't controlled and has mistakes, it's a 1950s Russian live recording vs well recorded studio in the 1990s. Ever heard of retakes and splicing? And even Nikolayeva's technique isn't good enough to get through it cleanly.
RabidCh 11 months ago
@OMRLPdedicate The way I see it is that Richter always uses strict tempo, and shows everything without compromising it. What makes you think it that way may partly due to bad recording, and this version is not Richter's best recording of this piece anyway, but still, bravo.
XiyueDeng 1 year ago
I don't like this playing at all. It's dull, mechanical and tedious. Practically no tempo variation, totally flat dynamics for ridiculously long periods of time, and generally boring and unimaginative. Full of mistakes as well, and doesn't always sound especially controlled, especially in the fugue. Compare Tatiana Nikolayeva's Shostakovich playing and you'll know what I'm talking about.
OMRLPdedicate 1 year ago