Svjatoslav Richter - Svjatoslav Richter in Prague: Grieg and Dvorak Piano Concertos (1998)

Richter's rendition of Grieg concerto is uncompromising and as hard as nature itself, none of the Romantic sentimentality often associated with this piece. One can feel the capacity of the instrument is stretched to the limit in octave passages. No pianists can match Richter's Grieg in its depth, grandeur and etherial beauty of the slow movement. Rubinstein once said, in the Film Richter the Enigma, that piano sounded so different when he heard Richter played, these two concerto recordings are the prime example. Under his hands the instrument starts to breathe with human warmth. Listen to the slow movement of Dvorak concerto. The piano sound shimmers and melts as if the sound comes from the world beyond ours. Every pianist of our generation must listen to these recordings and must realise that faithfully reproducing notes is not music making at all!