Rachmaninov: Preludes, Etudes Tableaux / Sviatoslav Richter

Exposure to large numbers of recordings can inure the reviewer to amazing feats of pianism; but Richter's Rachmaninov compels one to reach again for all those superlatives devalued by casual over-use. The whirlwind E flat minor Etude is a miracle of articulation, and the hypnotic quality of the melancholy A minor, Op. 39 No. 2 is equally remarkable; both depend for their special impact on a particular facet of pianistic mastery, which is Richter's conjuring of meaning from the spaces between the notes as much as from the notes themselves. The clarity of Rachmaninov's swirling figurations, the sadness of his lyricism, the volcanic welling-up of' climaxes, all are enhanced by this spaciousness, and the depth of thought which has gone into the Read more interpretations makes them lodge in the memory as powerfully as they engage the ear at first hearing.

-- Gramophone [3/1989, reviewing the Etudes-Tableaux]
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1. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 33: no 9 in C sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1911; Russia

2. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 33: no 5 in D minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1911; Russia

3. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 33: no 6 in E flat minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1911; Russia

4. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 39: no 1 in C minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1916-1917; Russia

5. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 39: no 2 in A minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1916-1917; Russia

6. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 39: no 3 in F sharp minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1916-1917; Russia

7. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 39: no 4 in B minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1916-1917; Russia

8. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 39: no 9 in D major by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1916-1917; Russia

9. Etudes-tableaux (9) for Piano, Op. 39: no 7 in C minor by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1916-1917; Russia

10. Preludes (10) for Piano, Op. 23: no 1 in F sharp minor, Largo by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1903; Russia

11. Preludes (10) for Piano, Op. 23: no 2 in B flat major, Maestoso by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1903; Russia

12. Preludes (10) for Piano, Op. 23: no 4 in D major, Andante cantabile by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1903; Russia

13. Preludes (10) for Piano, Op. 23: no 5 in G minor, Alla marcia by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901; Russia

14. Preludes (10) for Piano, Op. 23: no 7 in C minor, Allegro by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1903; Russia

15. Preludes (10) for Piano, Op. 23: no 8 in A flat major, Allegro vivace by Sergei Rachmaninov

Performer: Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901-1903; Russia

16. Preludes (13) for Piano, Op. 32: no 1 in C major, Allegro vivace by Sergei Rachmaninov