Brahms: Piano Quintet, Op. 34 / Paganini Variations / Four Pieces from Op. 116 (Sviatoslav Richter Archives, Vol. 12)

First commercial release of these immortal performances by one of the past century's greatest keyboard artists. The Brahms Quintet is a live performance from Budapest with the legendary Tatrai Quartet on February 13, 1958. The Schumann and Brahms solo works come from a Takasaki, Japan recital on October 16, 1986. Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) is numbered among the finest pianists of the twentieth century. He exhibited all the best traits of the Russian school of playing: dynamism, lyrical expressiveness, and a wide range of tonal color. Combined with his typical thoughtfulness, subtlety, and attention to style, these qualities assured Richter of a distinguished international career. For many listeners, indeed, he was the paragon of balance among virtuosos, the pianist who exhibited the greatest equality among the elements across his musical palette. The West first became aware of Richter through recordings made in the 1950s. He was not allowed to tour the US until 1960, and then created a sensation. Touring, however, was not Richter's forte. He preferred an intimate concert venue, and in later years took to playing in darkened halls, sometimes with only a small lamp lighting his piano.