His passing most unfortunately coming on the same day as the dreaded Stalin's, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), most fortunately, left to posterity a far better, less lethal legacy. His music, often marked rhythmically and instrumentally by the violence and war which surrounded him after his return to the Soviet Union, is all the more dramatic as a result. Few could capture that drama as well as his countryman Sviatoslav Richter, a pianist seemingly born to play his music. These 1956-8 Moscow recordings of the Sonatas Nos. 6, 7 & 9, capture Mr. Richter at the height of his interpretative powers.
1 Piano Sonata No. 6 in a Major ('War Sonata 1'), Op. 82: 1. Allegro Moderato
2 Piano Sonata No. 6 in a Major ('War Sonata 1'), Op. 82: 2. Allegretto
3 Piano Sonata No. 6 in a Major ('War Sonata 1'), Op. 82: 3. Tempo Di Valzer Lentissimo
4 Piano Sonata No. 6 in a Major ('War Sonata 1'), Op. 82: 4. Vivace
5 Piano Sonata No. 7 in B Flat Major ('War Sonata 2/Stalingrad'), Op. 83: 1. Allegro Inquieto
6 Piano Sonata No. 7 in B Flat Major ('War Sonata 2/Stalingrad'), Op. 83: 2. Andante Caloroso
7 Piano Sonata No. 7 in B Flat Major ('War Sonata 2/Stalingrad'), Op. 83: 3. Precipitato
8 Piano Sonata No. 9 in C Major, Op. 103: 1. Allegretto
9 Piano Sonata No. 9 in C Major, Op. 103: 2. Allegro Strepitoso
10 Piano Sonata No. 9 in C Major, Op. 103: 3. Andante Tranquillo
11 Piano Sonata No. 9 in C Major, Op. 103: 4. Allegro Con Brio
His passing most unfortunately coming on the same day as the dreaded Stalin's, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), most fortunately, left to posterity a far better, less lethal legacy. His music, often marked rhythmically and instrumentally by the violence and war which surrounded him after his return to the Soviet Union, is all the more dramatic as a result. Few could capture that drama as well as his countryman Sviatoslav Richter, a pianist seemingly born to play his music. These 1956-8 Moscow recordings of the Sonatas Nos. 6, 7 & 9, capture Mr. Richter at the height of his interpretative powers.
