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Debussy: Preludes / L'Isle Joyeuse / Chopin: Ballade No. 3 / Scherzo No. 4 / Mazurkas, Op. 24 / Barcarolle
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About Debussy: Preludes / L'Isle Joyeuse
Amazon.com Here's an unexpected treasure, indeed. Sviatoslav Richter was one of the great musicians of the last century, and had one of the broadest repertoires of any, but Chopin and Debussy are not composers particularly associated with him (though, interestingly enough, he listed them among his favorites). Sometimes his Chopin could be overly bold and strident; here, however, from the lilting opening of the Third Ballade, through to the electricity of his two madcap readings of the last of the Op. 10 Études, he is in electrifying form. His Debussy, too, is deeply compelling: less a pulpy wash of indeterminate sounds, swamped by overindulgent use of the pedal; more a succession of palpably three-dimensional images and characters. Thus you get closer than ever to the gouty old "General Lavine," the glittering explosiveness of "Fireworks," and the grave beauty of the "Submerged Cathedral." Whether or not his interpretations would meet the approval of the composer is irrelevant; what matters is that, Pied Piper-like, Richter insists that they couldn't possibly be played any other way. The recordings, made in the 1960s before silently entranced audiences, are perfectly acceptable. --Harriet Smith, Amazon.co.uk
