Sviatoslav Richter’s 1974 Grieg and Schumann concerto accounts sound brighter, fuller of body, and more vividly detailed in EMI’s Great Recordings of the Century transfer than previous CD and LP editions. Indeed, the sonic improvement exposes a botched splice at the outset of the Schumann first-movement cadenza. The pianist is on formidable form. His third recording of the Schumann is more forceful and boldly etched than his relatively poetic Melodiya and DG traversals. Passages often treated lyrically, such as the first-movement recapitulation of the main theme or the Intermezzo’s coquettish soloist/orchestra dialogues, move in a more businesslike fashion. Richter also gives an eagle-eyed view of the Finale’s spinning patterns. Lovro von Matacíc’s accompanimental presence largely manifests itself through firm bass lines and strong, shapely underpinning from the massed strings. He achieves this in spite of the Monte-Carlo orchestra’s tonal drabness (the solo winds make particularly unlovely sounds).
Richter similarly sheds individual light upon the Grieg concerto’s solo part. He paints the folk-inspired melodies in broad brushstrokes while mustering plenty of crispness and power for Grieg’s flashier passagework. Richter’s live 1962 Schumann Papillons fills out the disc. I reviewed this performance in its EMI Encore incarnation (type Q5773 in Search Reviews), and can only add that the present transfer is brighter and fuller.
