Sviatoslav Richter - P. Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1; S. Rachmaninov: Concerto No. 2 (1994)

In what used to be called the West, Sviatoslav Richter's best-known and best-loved recording of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto was the 1962 recording on Deutsche Grammophon with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Symphony. In what used to be called the East, Richter's best-known and best-loved recording of Tchaikovsky's First was this 1958 recording on Melodiya with Yevgeny Mravinsky conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic. In the West, Richter's 1962 Deutsche Grammophon recording has always been and will always be available, but his 1958 recording has been only intermittently available on imported or small domestic labels until the dawn of the CD era. This Melodiya release restores the 1958 to the West in sound that outclasses nearly every previous issue of the performance.
The differences between are striking: in both, Richter is clearly the most commanding virtuoso ever to record Tchaikovsky's First, but with Karajan, he's challenging the conductor for control of the interpretation, while Mravinsky is completely at one with the conductor and orchestra. With Karajan, Richter is fighting a strong will opposed to his own. With Mravinsky, Richter is teamed with a strong will with the same goal. In the West, Richter's best-known recording of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto was the April 1959 recording with Stanislaw Wislocki leading the Warsaw Philharmonic. In the East, it was the February 1959 recording with Kurt Sanderling leading the Leningrad. Once again, the Russian performance was better. In Wislocki, Richter had a capable colleague. In Sanderling, he had a powerful partner. And once again, Melodiya's sound the best the performance has ever had. -- James Leonard