Of complete sets I have heard:
Jando's set is correct and emotionally restrained (on Naxos). It is well worth a listen, but maybe not the best set.
Andras Schiff's renowned set is brilliant if you want to study these pieces, clear, intelligent, well-performed, idiomatic.
Richter however brings all that, plus the feeling, the depth, an immediate sense that 'this is right' for each piece and its the mood and character; much as the Chopin etudes need a masterful performer to bring the light onto each piece and differentiate one set of flashing, arpeggiated notes from the other.
While the Schiff set is a benchmark, with jewel-like recording quality, and of very high value: for enjoyment, listeners will probably find they could play one disc, after another, after another, after another, of the Richter set. Flowing, river-like, fulfilling, performances of this packed treasure chest of Western art.
To choose: Schiff for perfection, but: Richter, for enjoyment. If you only had to listen to one set before the end of the world, it will be Richter's.
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OWENTD
Flowing, organic, irresistible, greatest of all
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2018Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
From the sublime to the ridiculous is but one step - Bonaparte
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2020Verified Purchase
From the sublime to the ridiculous is but one step - Bonaparte
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2020
Richter's performance of Bach's 48 Preludes and Fugues are sublime, it goes without saying. Most negative comments are directed against the ridiculous sound quality. To be fair to RCA and Melodiya, everything that went wrong was none of their fault really. The piano used was not the usual Steinway but a Bosendorfer, the Rolls Royce of pianos made in, of course, Austria. It has an unusual sound. Richter famously preferred the Bosendorfer over Steinways, and, surprisingly, he was also a staunch fan of Yamaha. Ironically, Yamaha, a best selling piano especially among children learning the piano, bought the Bosendorfer factory. Hence, if the sound in this recording sounds somewhat like a Yamaha, you know why. To someone with perfect pitch, it upsets me that he had the piano tuned a semitone sharper. Then, Richter wanted the microphones to be placed out of sight. That is why the piano sounded so distant, with a lot of reverberations. I recently upgraded my hifi and I can say that the piano image is quite solid, about 10 yards behind the speakers. Those who are used to recordings of the piano where the microphone is placed about 10 inches from the strings would find this recording terribly unfocused. Moreover, the venue was not a studio but the Klessheim Castle (Schloss) in Salzburg. Hitler used it to meet Mussolini and was nearly assassinated there. President Nixon also visited it. As you can see in the accompanying picture, this elegant and historical palace has now been turned into a casino. How ridiculous!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2020
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Destiny Clemens
A great bargain at little over £10 and surely the no
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 May 2016Verified Purchase
Colin Y.
J S Bach Should Hear This.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 February 2016Verified Purchase
A. F. B. Pearce
i love his playing and the sound of his piano
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 October 2014Verified Purchase
