Sviatoslav Richter in Prague, 1959 - Beethoven Appassionata

[@jackcurley1591]

Wow, this is like listening to the sonata again for the first time! What an incredible performance and what a special musician Richter was

[@jamesnickoloff6692]

I agree entirely. I used to "play" this sonata as a kid--but of course it was not the same piece at all! With Richter I'm hearing it for the first time.

[@НиколайОрехов-л2ч]

Лучшее в мире, вне всякого сомнения, эталонное исполнение этой сонаты!

[@jakubminarik8141]

The very best of the very best. Legendary. Unique. Sviatoslav.

[@juridadiani464]

Sviatoslav Richter-ein Genie!!!!!!!!! Uberdimensional!!!!!!!! Ein unbeschreibliches Glücksgefühl-Richter zu hören dürfen!

[@charlesdalmas6534]

If God were ever a pianist, he would be this man. Holy Crow, this is exciting. My blood is boiling.

[@МаринаШалина-п2ы]

Спасибо,что можно ещё раз прослушать сонату в исполнении Святослава Рихтера! Браво!

[@antonellamajorano5348]

Interpretazione insuperabile.

[@jennyrook]

Absolutely the best performance ever! Incomparable.

[@DadoD999]

This is THE BEST INTERPRETATION EVER AND THAT WILL EVER EXIST!!

[@angelavimercati21]

DadoD999 yes sir, richter super fantastic.. unbelievable performance. may the best? but also ghilels ashkenazy gulda.....etc...

[@nilesdelta8636]

8 years on are u still right? Instantly drawn to richter after hearing the tempest my new fav.

[@eduardoguerraavila8329]

Emil Gilels's version it is superior.

[@Cayres18]

@@eduardoguerraavila8329 no.

[@epicaunleashed8764]

​@@eduardoguerraavila8329 absolute agree. Gilels was better.

[@PatrickDieterKlavier]

One of the best interpretations ever.......

[@danlo5]

Richter is just untouchable with this sonata. This one was great, but there's another live performance, I think from one of his Carnegie Hall recitals, that's absolutely thrilling. He fudges a few notes in the finale, but it makes it all the more exciting.

[@ОльгаАбросимова-з3у]

Безупречное гениальное исполнение, великий Рихтер.

[@salprocacci5046]

Very convincing performance by The Great Richter...

[@vincentjacquin9851]

Tout y est! Une merveille d'équilibre entre violence passionnelle et sublimation...

[@andrews582]

I personally like Richter's athletic interpretation of this sonata.

Are you implying that he's showing off?? Because that is definitely not the case, Richter is not that sort of pianist.

[@Highinsight7]

@@uo189839 it's "subjective..." fast... but not toooo.....

[@mehmetiksel3081]

The art of transition is supreme... However extreme, there is always a truth to it. Beethoven. Accept no substitute.

[@vangel1443]

What a way of ending the sonata. Simply a master.

[@foremostmagyar]

Love the PASSION in his play! Woke me up:)

[@린츠-q6u]

프라하에서의 오래 된 연주. 들을때마다 감탄! 리히터의 저 모습은 강인한 뱃사람 느낌.

[@leenvberloo9989]

wat een geweldige techniek om zo te kunnen spelen.

[@andrews582]

Even in Beethoven's time there were no pianos with the power of a present day Steinway. If he'd had the precise hearing of his youth, Beethoven would have marveled at the sound of contemporary instruments. He would probably have performed his music differently on a more impressive piano than was available in the early 19th Century.

[@petie32]

Thomas Andrews Have you actually played a Broadwood?

[@stonefireice6058]

@@petie32 there is no perfection in anything, but Steinway is the closest to perfect, and its newer crop sounds even better than XIX century pianos. I owned grand Steinway from the 30s and can tell the difference.

[@marcosPRATA918]

É demais, na dinâmica, acentos, posso sentir nuances do fraseado!

[@predrag-peterilich900]

What a fireworks! What expressiveness, what irresistible drive, what fingerfertigkeit! Best rendition by far. (The - distant - second, in my humble view, would be Friedrich Goulda's rendition.) And to add my 2 cents to, rather misplaced, comparisons with "Beethoven's playing," no, I do no think the master could have been any better; I think Sasha Richter, on a modern concert piano, has achieved the ultimate perfection. We will probably only slide down in the years, decades, centuries to come, as we already have in many other areas - think of composing music, painting, .... (But we are so much better at shopping!)

[@grotriansteinweg3823]

Think before you speak please... Beethoven was a creator, he often added flair to his own performances and was known to change passages for his own personal performances. Secondly, Richter makes plenty of mistakes here so it is hardly 'ultimate perfection'. Thirdly, you are for some reason pretending that the only great renditions are already uploaded to youtube. I would speculate that a very low percentage of great performances of this sonata are actually up on youtube. Richter was a fantastic pianist and noble character however. One of the best.

[@quinto34]

'Sasha Richter' ..never heard that before or did you mean to write Slava? -edit- it's Gulda, not goulda..and 'best' is a sports term, doesn't work in art when used as an objective ;- )

[@brandonscherrer]

Grotrian Steinweg First and foremost, every pianist should strive to communicate the expression of the almighty Beethoven! In this sense, Richter's performance is ultimate perfection ! It's such a pitty that you think that playing the right notes are that important, was it not Beethoven himself that proclaimed ''To play a wrong note is insignificant; but to play without passion is inexcusable''.

[@grotriansteinweg3823]

Brandon Scherrer Please, I always interpret Beethoven with spirit over note perfection. I can still appreciate musical perfection, since I play at concert standard myself. Gould is better musically and technically. Richter is more human, which is what you are trying to say I think. Gould found it hard to 'let go' and his intensity instead comes from attention to detail and volume of every voice present in the music. Since Beethoven composed the music, we can only assume that he had a mastery over the sense of harmonic construction and could have projected each and every note just as he would have liked, similar to what Glenn Gould does. Other pianists just don't even come close. I'm sorry, but Richter, although admired by Glenn, was just not as good a pianist musically or technically. If you want to see real flair comparable to Beethoven or Mozart check out Alma Deutscher on youtube.

[@MayaxTaylor]

Grotrian Steinweg んj

[@EmilianoManna]

The only pianist that does justice to this Sonata!

[@Highinsight7]

What a GREAT set of hands... WONDERFUL ears... and PURE heart!

[@raymondgibson1906]

Most of the comments are silly and self serving. We are blessed to have lived in the time of Richter and the other giants of 20th century piano, and future lovers of music will marvel at recordings such as this.

[@유종옥-q1p]

+Raymond Gibson I agree entirely.

[@ИринаМоисеенко-д2г]

Raymond Gibson

[@francoriva55]

Right ! Mani pianist play brautifully this fantastic fantastic fantastic sonata !!! There are not a pianist which is better than all ..... !!! Piano giants ... there are dozens

[@stonefireice6058]

You are right, only composer himself could tell, which pianist plays it best. Otherwise our judgements are all subjective, according to our interpretation and liking. I also hate some of the reviews using superlatives in excess. Yet Richter is a giant, no doubt.

[@gerlindeczech8524]

Sehr sehr gut gesagt! Ja, es erfüllt einen mit Dankbarkeit solch einen Geistesgiganten spielen zu hören!

[@DadoD999]

This the best chanel on youtube!!!

[@ЛюдмилаОвчинникова-г6я]

Браво, Мастер !

[@raticida123456]

this is a real performance... thank you!!...

[@remsan03]

I only wished that there was a video for this so I can ENJOY Richter 'miserable" look while playing Beethoven menacing f minor. That would make me so happy. This is an awesome interpretation

[@classic4ever780]

Formidable Richter ! et qu'importent les fausses notes (9.34). Un pianiste qui savait prendre des risques. Un musicien dont les interprétations ne laissaient jamais indifférent. Le contraire du jeu aseptisé de beaucoup de pianistes d'aujourd'hui.

[@Fidelio1814]

Vous avez tellement raison !

[@brodricdesaissac2840]

"Jouer une fausse note est insignifiant. Jouer sans passion est inexcusable."

[@johncitizen9540]

Breathtaking

[@bach5861]

He was a PERSONALITY.

[@gerlindeczech8524]

Richters Spiel ist wie der Schwerthieb eines Engels!

[@4mithrandir]

Richter, unleashing all of his powers, is penetrating, volcanic, awesome!

[@francescaemc2]

grazie

[@СветланаДавыдова-з5з]

Beethoven Sonata " Appassionata"- пожалуй, самое мятежная, грандиозная и трагическая его Sonata. Richter исполняет ее как схватку Человека с враждебными ему силами: отсюда волевой напор, оправданная резкость контрастов, лавина несущихся звуков, страстный порыв к Победе и Свободе. Все три части связаны единой линией развития, неуклонного движения. Небольшой отдых в вариациях второй части лишь на короткое время уступает место динамике трагической борьбы, усиливающейся в Финале. Светлана Давыдова

[@stonefireice6058]

Sounds like a page from Pravda, full of Communist propaganda editorial cliches. Please, try to describe your feelings with your own words, if not, just be mum.

[@gerlindeczech8524]

Sehr gute Interpretation seines Spiels! Das genau entspricht auch des rebellischen Charakters Beethovens!

[@TrevRockOne]

@newFranzFerencLiszt You are very wrong, sir. Beethoven was a sensational pianist. He became famous as a pianist of immense technique and unrivaled power before he made his name as a composer.

[@fenriquealvarez]

WOW Richter .

[@rationalistx]

Cheer up Richter! The boat hasn't hit an iceberg.....

[@johnnorris1964]

I wish Beethoven could have listened to this

[@deaner1955]

I wish Beethoven had been able to record it himself! He was known to have been a master improvisor. In his early years, no other pianist could touch him! What a treat it would to have been to hear the great maestro play!

[@quinto34]

Beethoven was a very good and well knows piano player in his days so we'll never know how he compared with Richter..Richter is hard to beat though :)

[@JamesLee-yk3jb]

What a change from his usually 'self-less' interpretation! This one has almost as much Richter as there is Beethoven.

[@SpontaneityJD]

huh

[@Viktorvelat95]

he was pianist, like trevrockone said, he was tremendous pianist, there are many proofs about it... we dont know,there is no best interpretation,it can be the closest to best,and i think that richter achieved to be great so much as possible... love all his interpretations,especially appassionata

[@carmenrubio3786]

🎼🎶🎵🎶🎶🎶✨✨✨✨✨

[@salmahola1145]

عظمة

[@sender1496]

I'm feeling that Beethoven would appreciate the tempo of the third movement.

[@karlakor]

I fail to see how Beethoven would appreciate the tempo of the third movement, in light of his tempo indication "Allegro ma non troppo". According to Carl Czerny, the finale should be only occasionally stormy.

[@thinkermanmusic]

He's just a troll. He's posting these kind of remarks on lots of(classical music) videos. Just check out his channel, and look at his comments...

[@chegadesalzburg]

Dear TrevRockOne, you are right that Beethoven was an outstanding pianist in his youth -one of the best at his time- but you cannot compare the technical level of the first romantic period with the degree of development in pianistic technique reached over hundred years later. Along history, numerous composers point out that other people play their music much better than themselves. In the case of Beethoven there are thousends of reasons for the story to be the same. Let us not be too idolatric!

[@Highinsight7]

HOW he can Change his tempos in such an effective way... is completely unknown to me...

[@목화씨-i1y]

격정적인 열정!

[@aaronaltman426]

agree

[@ausnewageman]

What is there to dislike?

[@갯벌지기]

리히터는 이미 너무도 위대했구나!

[@mayamaya8183]

Oh yeah, Mr. Rationalist, then tell me, why did Richter become one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century if he hated his job, as they say that he was very emotional(in a good way) in his playing.

[@svetlanavazhinskaya2018]

Рихтер индивидуален. Он не просто играет,он передаёт эмоции, он проводник и в этом его гениальность. Как он сам говорил - Я играю для себя и если мне нравится - нравится слушателю . Это тот случай,когда когда любить искусство в себе, а не себя в искусстве. Другого такого нет.

[@MAURICAFonenantsoa]

3:50 wrong note... but it does not diminish in the slightest my esteem on the interpretation!

[@MrElicottero]

Please tell me that was some kind of very refined sense of humor?

[@victorbernard284]

ne vous semble il pas que le tempo (du 1er mouv) ne devrait pas bouger d'un pouce? être implacable? et un poil plus rapide (a mon gout) alors que rudolf Serkin (1936)... écoutez le... bien sur, faite s fi de l'acoustique qui n'est pas du meme niveau... 2me mouv, superbe! le bon tempo!... et le 3me mouv... aussi ... formidable!! Donc a part le tempo du 1er mouv trop lent et fluctuant, j'aime...

[@TrevRockOne]

While you're right about technique coming a long way in the interim between Beethoven and Richter here, I'm sure that Beethoven had more than enough technique to play his own pieces, at least the ones he wrote when he could still play. Richter's Appassionata is amazing, but I wouldn't assume that it is automatically better than how Beethoven played it. We can assume, however, that Richter is better at playing say Rachmaninoff.

[@gerardarnaud3264]

Camus et l"absurdité du monde et la révolte. Je me révolte donc je suis.

[@yucayuc1]

wau,.....,,w !

[@niklakislakis6557]

ok then,....you are mostly unwelcomed here.......(you should get yourself an expensive hi-end system so as to enjoy what you really like)

[@niklakislakis6557]

Humor?....he should refine his mind!

[@andresrobaina2761]

hace el piano de goma que lo pario

[@mcrettable]

he admitted he didn't like himself

[@JJHuspek]

paganviodio Rachmaninoff was a well known self-hater. Plus even though Horowitz's 40's recordings of Rachmaninoff were great, they still can't live up to Rachmaninoff's (though the cuts do make me cringe). And I do believe you are referring to Rachmaninoff's comments about Horowitz's playing of the 3rd concerto. I believe Rachmaninoff recorded that in 1939, when he was old and about to die, and it was still better in my opinion.

[@bloodgrss]

Huh? What were you drinking that day? ;-)

[@Elze77]

Don't fucking feed the troll ! Merci.

[@day7two]

sounds like Looney Toons background music

[@OwlyEagles]

He had to play for Americans.

[@paganviodio]

I also don´t believe that Beethoven could play this so well as Richter. Writing a Sonata and playing it , are two diffirent Disciplines. Mozart has written Horn Concerto, allthoug he could manage to produce one single Tune out of a Horn. Besides , we have the recordings of Rachmaninov playing his own Concertos. Rachmaninov knew Horowitz, and said himself , that Horowitz played his Concerto better than he himself. If Beethoven has heard this performance, he ´d take his hat up and greet Slava.

[@arturbotashev8853]

Великолепно!!!!

[@MyAlbertoLive]

there is worse.. like beethoven, the composer him self. humm.. Hopefully specifically for you god created Justin Bibber. Get lost far........

[@gerardarnaud3264]

Dieu n'existe pas! Il y a juste l'homme en prise avec sa conscience et ses affectes le reste est bla bla . C'est Ce que nous crie cette musique! Rocher à tout comprit .

[@rationalistx]

Just look at that photo of Richter. The most miserable looking pianist you'll ever see. He must have hated his job. Compare his photo with the smiling Liberace or Richard Clayderman. These guys played music the public wanted to listen to, not this rubbish.

[@stonefireice6058]

Russians ( Richter was German born in Russia and lived there all his life) traditionally never smile on photos. They believe smiling for no reason is a sign of being an idiot! Besides Richter had very tough life, dealing with bias by Bolsheviks. He was able to perform in the West only occasionally with many blocks on his way. He had 2 problems: Russians thought of him as German, and West thought of him as Soviet! Nothing to smile about.