Urania’s Latest Richter Album Disappoints

courtesy of Naxos of America

At the beginning of this month, Urania Records released its latest two-CD album of recordings made by pianist Sviatoslav Richter. This is the third such release I have encountered, although I am almost certain that Richter recorded much more on this label. (pianistdiscography.com lists 26 Urania Richter albums, but that list does not includes the two two-CD albums I have encountered.) My own “first contact” with Urania came in April of 2017 with the release of an album of seven piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven, including the “big three” final sonatas, Opus 109 in E major, Opus 110 in A-flat major, and Opus 111 in C minor. This was followed about five months later by an album of virtuosity at its most intense composed by Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt. Both of these albums consisted of recordings made during recital performances.

The new album is devoted entirely to Frédéric Chopin. It is worth calling out the first two sentences of the advance material included on the Amazon.com Web page:

Sviatoslav Richter’s discography is one of the most disorderly and complex. Organizing an organic collection of studio recordings, was the task of this 2-album box.

Given that a few of the tracks have the sounds of audience applause (and a few of the less welcome sounds often encountered), I find it hard to accept the above claim at face value. The fact is that the release itself includes no documentary data concerning recording details for any of the tracks.

Any sense of order has to do with how the tracks have been arranged. The first CD consists of the four ballades in chronological order of publication, followed by the four scherzos in similar order. The first thirteen of the fourteen tracks on the second CD are devoted to a selection taken from the two publications of études. Opus 10 is represented by Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 11, and 12, followed by Numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 12 from Opus 25. There is then a concluding track for the Opus 61 “Polonaise-fantaisie” in A-flat major.

All of these selections are included in the twelve-CD Profil collection of Richter playing the music of Liszt and Chopin, which comes with a booklet that provides the where and when for each of the tracks (with varying resolutions of accuracy). On the basis of track duration, I am relatively confident that none of the Urania tracks reproduce tracks on the Profil CDs. However, if they are different, then serious listeners are going to want contextual details that might explain the nature of the differences. Sadly, it would appear that Urania thinks as little about the needs of such listeners as it does about bringing substantive organization to the Richter discography.