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What gorgeous playing, eh? Only Richter, could hold together such a slow Andante sostenuto. This is such a great film and the "accompanying" book, is just as good.
"And if we look at the works of J.S. Bach — a benevolent god to which all musicians should offer a prayer to defend themselves against mediocrity... -Debussy
"It's ok if you disagree with me. I can't force you to be right."
(It's not really that slow a tempo, is it?? It's pretty close to how I've usually heard it, and just about the tempo I've done when I've played through it......never worked on it though.)
(It's not really that slow a tempo, is it?? It's pretty close to how I've usually heard it, and just about the tempo I've done when I've played through it......never worked on it though.)
Well, it is marked andante, and I've always preferred it a little faster. And Richter liked his Schubert sonatas slow. He's one of my favorite pianists, but have you ever heard him play the first movement of this sonata?.... Or... the first movement of.... the G major....zzzzzzzzz
I have his recording of the "little A major" sonata (D. 664), and I think it's just about terrible.
I'm on another music forum where (coincidentally) they JUST did a poll of "favorite pianists" -- and Richter came in #1. But IMO the story isn't that he came in first, it's that he was first by a HUGE MARGIN.
The people over there don't think it's remarkable. I think it's incredible. I mean, I think he was great too, but not to that extent.
P.S. That said, I might well take the slow movement of that B-flat sonata even slower.
Sorry, to be a dissenting voice but I'm not really too keen on Richter's D960 and the Andante Sostenuto movement, even though he was one of the very greatest of C20 pianists.
To me there is a gentleness and deep humanity in this movement and the emotions speak through that. I find Richter too 'monumental', a little too much of the overt Winterreise angst and it just doesn't flow enough. More importantly it fails the "Does it bring tears to my eyes?" test. It's so difficult to put these things into words, and I am failing miserably to do so!
D960 is a piece very close to my heart and perhaps the pianists I keep coming back to more than any others are Kempff, Brendel and Clifford Curzon.
Yes, extremely beautiful. To me there could hardly be a more effective 'tears to my eyes' piece.
I heard it first when I watched that documentary. And what contrast with that noisy fragment that comes after it! There's a different recording of the entire piece on YT by Richter.
This is one of those performances that left such a big impression on me, that when I hear other pianists play it I am simply unable to appreciate it.
....To me there is a gentleness and deep humanity in this movement and the emotions speak through that. I find Richter too 'monumental', a little too much of the overt Winterreise angst and it just doesn't flow enough. More importantly it fails the "Does it bring tears to my eyes?" test. It's so difficult to put these things into words, and I am failing miserably to do so!....
I think I can put it into words, and I'll be interested in whether it's part of what you feel also.
I think the biggest problem is how he undoes the rhythm.
To me, this is one of those pieces that DEPENDS on a steady, hypnotic rhythm -- absolutely depends on it. But he screws around with it, not so much that he does "rubato" (although there is some of that) but more so that he emphasizes and de-emphasizes notes in a way that undoes the pulsating pulse.
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