Title: Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 and 2
Artist(s): Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Kiril Kondrashin & The London Symphony Orchestra
Recording Info:
Engineer - C. R. Fine
Co-Engineer - Robert Eberenz
Recording Director - Wilma Cozart
Musical Supervisor - Harold Lawrence
Recorded by Philips at Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London, 19-21 July 1961 on 35 MM Film
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Richter - relentless yet refined
These are absolutely fantastic interpretations from pianist, conductor and orchestra, with Richter shining in his unique combination of drive and fervor and innate musicality. I came across this recording years back in a Philips pressing, and it was a revelation for me, having heard several legendary "Living Stereo" piano concertos, which to my ears left the piano in "Living Mono"! Here is a fulsome piano sound that fills the stereo image in a realistic way, piano still coherently in-phase in every range -- deep powerful bass, pungent and singing midrange, delicate and impactful highs, with an orchestra that also balances and sounds realistic with the piano. This is a truly excellent transfer by HDTT, incredibly clear and musical. Yes the orchestra is certainly snazzy-sounding, but in these Liszt pieces I think that is a great plus.

CD too bright
I found the remastering too bright. I have the original CD. Nit bad but dated. The sonics were clearer ,but again, too bright for my ears. I was disappointed because many of the Command tapes were of excellent quality, far ahead of the standard sonics of the day.

Richter/Kondrashin - a dream-team
I've loved this recording for 60 years. Great piano sound. Present orchestra. Unfortunately, rhythmic noise at the end of the second movement. Achim L.

Great product
Wonderful way to have a copy of Oldies, but great performances.

Lightning Bolts straight from Olympus
This was not Richter's first concerto recording in the West. However, it was definitely the first in which the conductor, the orchestra and the engineers were not only top notch but on the same page with the incomparable soloist. Beyond having one of the most superhuman techniques in history, and a megawatt personality, Richter possessed the uncanny gift of playing everything from the most superficial to the most profound music in a way to make the listener hang on every note. Yeah, these virtuoso warhorses ain't late Beethoven, but they ain't chopped liver either, and these performances fully capture Liszt's adventurousness and experimentation, while delightedly wallowing in their own virtuosity. The LSO sounds positively jolted into edge of the seat responsiveness to both Richer and Kondrashin, who no doubt had done these pieces numerous times back in the USSR, but never with an orchestra on this level. Add to this Mercury's incomparable 35mm mastered soundstage (with the "lights" appropriately turned on to full brightness), and this goes right into the time capsule.
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