A superb performance supported by perfect technique and strong touch!
Recorded: April 1959 in Warsaw, September 1962 in Vienna
Sviatoslav Richter (March 20, 1915 - August 1, 1997) was called the greatest pianist of the 20th century. Born in Ukraine, Richter won the All-Soviet Music Competition in 1945 and established his reputation as a pianist, but because his activities were limited to the Soviet Union, he was called a phantom pianist and attracted attention in the West. The two pieces included here were recorded around the time of his Western debut in the early 1960s, and the Rachmaninoff recording in particular is renowned as the definitive recording.
