Sviatoslav Richter Plays 4 Mozart Piano Concertos

courtesy of Naxos of America

Two weeks ago Urania Records released another two-CD album of recordings made by pianist Sviatoslav Richter. This took place two days before I wrote about my dissatisfaction with its previous two-CD release devoted entirely to the solo piano music of Frédéric Chopin. This is the latest instance of a recording that Amazon.com is releasing only as an MP3 album. Those interested in a physical copy (whose back cover provides the only information about when these recordings were made) are likely to discover that many of the usual British sources have sold out their current stock. However, the Vermont-based HBDirect claims to have copies to sell; and that is where the above hyperlink leads!

The two CDs present four of the piano concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. These are presented in order of the numbers in Ludwig van Köchel’s catalog of Mozart’s compositions, with two concertos on each CD. Those concertos are as follows:

• K. 271 in E-flat major with Lorin Maazel conducting the Orchestre National de France
• K. 466 in D minor with Karl Eliasberg conducting the USSR State Symphony Orchestra (before its name was changed to the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation
• K. 482 in E-flat major with Benjamin Britten conducting the English Chamber Orchestra
• K. 595 in B-flat major with Benjamin Britten conducting the English Chamber Orchestra

As is the case with all Richter recordings, these performances were given on contemporary instruments. Those obsessed with “historically informed” approaches may want to steer clear of these offerings; but that will be their loss! There is a consistent level of clarity that pervades the performances from which these recordings were made. One can thus compare the engaging playfulness of K. 271 with the Sturm und Drang rhetoric of K. 466 and come away with equal satisfaction in both accounts.

The Britten recordings, on the other hand, were probably made over the course of Richter’s several visits to Aldeburgh. Richter shows up on two of the Mozart selections included in the Decca collection of Benjamin Britten performing music other than his own. However, those are duo keyboard performances, the K. 521 four-hand sonata in C major and the K. 448 sonata in D major for two pianos. This Urania release provides the opportunity to enjoy the conductor-soloist relationship between Britten and Richter; and that opportunity is definitely a rewarding one.