Slower IS Better: Sviatoslav Richter

0:00 Intro
0:57 Background on Richter
1:57 My early aversion to his style and philosophy
4:37 The turning point: Richter and Schubert
5:13 Examples of Prokofiev Concerto No. 5 and Sonata No. 6
6:24 Richter plays Schubert’s G major Sonata D 894
10:25 Analysis of Richter’s rhythm, compared with Alfred Brendel
11:13 Brendel’s Schubert G major Sonata
12:43 Brendel/Richter side by side comparison

Richter’s complete G major Sonata Performance:

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[alexandersemenov]

Just a few remarks. Richter was born in Zhytomyr in 1915, but the family moved to Odessa in 1916, so he spent his young years in Odessa, and never hated the city, he only refused to give concerts there for reasons already mentioned here - his father was shot after the war began, and his mother flew to Germany with a very bad man who additionally took Richter’s name in Germany.
Richter was not Ukrainan, a good joke  His father was German and his mother was from Russian nobility of German origin (her mother was German as well).
Now, the most important thing is that his decision to become a pianist has nothing to do with those employment problems.
He heard Vsevolod Topilin, then accompanist to Oistrach, in a recital, and was so impressed by Chopin 4th Ballade in Topilin’s interpretation that decided to become a pianist.
There are only two pianists named genius by Richter - Topilin and Cliburn.
Topilin had lived a tragic life: when prisoner in a German concentration camp, he was asked by the camp commander to play Beethoven, and was given a special regime, and then played to field marshal Fedor von Bock, was released from the camp, and gave concerts in Germany. After the war, he was accused of collaboration with Nazi, and sent to a Russian camp this time. He taught at a musical school and later Kiev conservatory after release, I know a pianist who worked with him for 6 years there, and told me fantastic stories about Topilin’s musical talent.

Thank you, Cole, for impressive presentation. Paypal does not work in Russia because of this crazy war, so I cannot make donations, but I will subscribe and let my friends know about your analysis.

[Renshen]

Richter’s interpretation of the G Major enchanted and transported me from start to finish. I couldn’t unhear it. His opening movement had more in common with Baroque performance practice. There was a post Romantic era reaction circa 1930s, however, most of us who grew up during the ‘modern’ school of piano instruction (a highly edited instructional score) or under the tutelage of teachers trained during this strict uncompromising fashion in which every note played metronomically with every staccato, every editorial addition played without question or omission, historical performance practice would rebel (except most music conservatories would stay modern). I wouldn’t call this Urtext, as you did in the video, which was in reaction to Busoni’s Bach editions. Urtext is refers to a score as the composer wrote unencumbered with the later layer upon layer of extraneous additions (some added by publishers in to keep the original out of public domain).
The first Urtext edition I purchase, J S Bach WTC Pt 1, in the 1970s, was an eye opener. Rather than just a piece of software to be played unquestioned, the pages became an artist’s canvas to create upon. And in some measures one could find a paradox, which required research, aka musicology and historical performance practice, something Glenn Gould never bothered with, which I continue to the present day.
Colin Booth’s book, Did Bach really mean that? subtitled Deceptive notation n Baroque keyboard music, shows examples from a variety of composers, not just the understood cadential trills that haven’t been written but were understood, examples where what appeared to be 3 against 2 were actually synchronized, or Gigues written in duple meter to be played as though written in compound time.
Sandra Rosenblum’s Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music, is another book, however if you can get over her confirmation bias on the rise of the fortepiano over the harpsichord (she’s wrong, and her famous pianist quote on the subject doubly wrong in the preface and elsewhere) the classical into the Romantic early decades however has excellent information all in one text, a convenient resource. (BTW, besides piano, I play organ, and harpsichord, and although not the clavichord, these lasted longer, Beethoven’s nephew Karl was trained on the instrument, Beethoven payed for a tuner for the instrument after his hearing wouldn’t have noticed circa 1821. )

[TheTahoe]

I have had a deep passion for the piano for many years. I have listened to countless pieces and have always loved hearing the same piece performed by different pianists. I have never fallen into the mistake of comparing pianists to each other because each of them is valuable in their own way. I have listened to Richter a lot, especially his interpretations of Schubert and Scriabin, which are truly fascinating. It feels as if he approaches the pieces in a way no other pianist has attempted. Richter is an extraordinary personality in every sense; it is almost impossible not to admire him. He represents a completely different level of pianism. Being able to listen to his performances is truly a privilege!

[noonesbiznass]

Glad to see a channel like this... thx

[MichaelStasiv]

A video finally struck the algorithm! Nice to see the channel growing!

[GnomicMaster]

I only had one Richter album when I was a little boy, and it was a recording of him playing a Liszt concerto. I'm pleased that the author of this YouTube mentioned Horowitz and Bolet (who I had the pleasure to see/hear in recital in Carmel in the 1990s). The beauty about classical piano is that you can play the same piece differently every time you play it. As a composer myself of piano pieces (neoclassical) I often play my compositions differently in tempo and accentuation. It keeps them fresh and alive. My 9 movement "Rasputin Rhapsody" is played by me every time differently.

[alexrichardson]

Thank you for a thoroughly interesting talk and demonstration. This is the first time I have come across such a knowledgeable comparison between performances.

[TienTran-nmms]

I never really listened to solo piano music - I know, I'm a Philistine! - until a friend gave me a CD of Richter playing Schubert's G Major. Each note was an experience in a way that unlocked a whole kind of musical performance for me. I listened to that CD obsessively for months. I've enjoyed other performances, but Richter's Schubert is very special to me, as it is to a lot of folks.

[Shooshie]

It’s not often that I listen to a video of commentary and agree so fully with the speaker. This is one of those times.

[pedroV]

Good video. This is my first time on your channel. FWIW Richter is my all time favorite pianist. I was introduced to him by way of my piano teacher around 1972. I was struck by the passion and power of his playing on his recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas '"Appassionata" and "Pathétique". He seems to be the best (IMO) of conveying the raging passions of LVB. He has the physical power to absolutely dominate the instrument in a way that most other do not and that i believe are essential with regards to Beethoven.

But I have not been a serious student of classical music since the early seventies so please take my comments accordingly.

P.S. I am interested in your Jorge Bolet who I met around 1973 after one of his concerts by a friend of my parents who went to Curtis with Jorge.

[SRYF]

Thank you for this short but great clip on Richter and his art, and for mentioning the wonderful documentary Richter the Enigma (French title: Richter l'insoumis, German: Richter der Unbeugsame). That masterful documentary is a must see for anyone who cares deeply about music in general and classical music in particular. The use of the Schubert D960 sonata (played by Richter of course) in that documentary is unforgettable, it still moves me to the core and I am not a person who is very easily moved. I am also not a professional musician, nor am I a pianist, but Richter is one of my top three of all recorded classical pianists. The other two are Michelangeli and Gould, who incidentally like Richter always were and still are very much misunderstood.

[roblemeire]

After hearing Richter playing Schubert’s G major Sonata, when I hear anyone else playing it, it feels incomplete, almost wrong.

[jackekstrand]

I find this recording of the sonata so interesting! I had never heard it before and it was a stark contrast to my impression of Richter! The recording I associate him with is of Chopin Etude op. 10 no. 4 (the famous one that is ludicrously fast). That recording has such accuracy and is almost metronomic. I’m going to check out the documentary you mentioned, as I would love to learn more about him! Great video :)

[이승림-dv]

When the metronome slows down and down but never stops, like my heart

[dianagendova]

I thought dont like Shubert, but watching Richter play, i must cry...What a difference with all other interpretations! I have alweys been fan of Richter, listen to his play, i never feel bored...

[koshersalaami]

A while back I tripped over a video of five pianists playing the Rachmaninoff G minor prelude. The five aren’t even all identified, though Kissin and Richter are included. Listening led to my looking up every YouTube recording of the piece I could find. I’m pretty sure I found over thirty, everything from Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff piano rolls to Lugansky and Lang Lang with all sorts of pianists in between. I can’t tell you my second favorite recording. My favorite, and it wasn’t close, was Richter. He found more and brought it out more, including than the composer. His crescendo in the third section was longer and more controlled than any other. He took his time. I highly recommend it.

[noelwilde]

Absolutely agree with you about Richter. I saw him live 3 times. He was amazing.

[fredrickroll]

I heard Richter's B-flat Major with no idea what was in store for me, and I agree - a rarity! with Glenn Gould: it was one of the most revolutionary musical experiences I ever had. "Die Winterreise" without text or voice, even intensified - the entire world is paralyzed, frozen into ice!

[grahamtwist]

Fascinating, Cole - as ever! Reflecting on your comment about 'surprise' and Richter believing that finding the unexpected in music can engage an audience in a way that is often lost in the ordinariness of the orthodox is, for me, only legitimate when it is 'honest' communication - an interpretation truly felt by the performer - as opposed to some trickery that shifts the focus from the music to the antics of the player in some sort of attention-seeking eccentricity. And I think Richter is an honest performer.
You highlight how Richter's manipulation of tempo seems to contradict his obsession with being a 'mirror' of the score and his conviction that there should be no deviation from, or embellishment of, what has been shoehorned into the score. As amazing and sophisticated as musical notation is, I believe it can never fully capture the imagination/spirit that lies at the heart of any composition. I can see why you comment that too rigid an approach to playing the score can make the music seem 'cold', especially when not even offset by emotion/instincts shaping a nuanced or even surprising tempo. I wonder why there is so much desire for seemingly definitive performances of music? I like to think I'm open-minded when listening to different performers and experiencing how I hear them feel the music and their desire to make me feel it the same way. A Brendel/Richter side by side comparison does not make me feel that one interpretation is superior to the other . . . rather that I can separately connect with what each of them is telling me about the music and how they are imagining and experiencing it. Thank goodness for such diversity! Sure, we might have our preferences, but I'm glad that musical imagination remains boundless and free from the straightjacket of notation!

[manueladevilliers]

You are just as eloquent as Glen Gould. Your comments are rational and has clarity, which I really appreciate. The way in which you do your representation, is reminding me of the intellectual way in which Glen Gould used to analyse music. Thank you I really enjoyed your presentation.