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Sviatoslav Richter - A Gentle Brute

For good reason, Sviatoslav Richter is a giant of the art music world. Born in Russia in 1915 (now Ukraine), Richter was a complicated artist with a notorious stage persona. There are few more iconic scenes in piano culture than Sviatoslav's shining bare head and miserable, aggressive face digging into a Beethoven sonata under the weak light of a lamp on a dark stage. His aura was cripplingly romantic and heroic. Rubinstein bounced in a courtly fashion, Gould bobbed up and down drastically (and did bizarre things with spear hands when they weren't required on the piano), Richter attacked the piano, like an annoyed Victorian headmaster he commanded his body with vicious force and intent, threw about his head in despair. This translated into his sound which was huge and piercing, however as I will go on to explain, Richter was capable of a remarkably melodic and delicate sound.  Contrary to Richter's common stage persona, his recordings of gentler repertoire such as ...
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Short Thoughts on Bach

It's Bach's birthday... There is no shortage of people on the internet saying Bach is great, but as any other admirer of his work will know, the urge to share his message is irresistible. For me, the most endearing thing about Bach is the fact he was not an intellectual. Unlike his contemporaries he was not interested in new political movements, ancient Greece or literature. He was an ordinary man who played the organ. This adds to the intrinsic truth of his art. No pretension only honest humanity. This fact, an anomaly in the history of art and artists, removes the sense of the individual from his output. Mozart and Beethoven are enshrined in myth and exaggerated tales about abusive fathers and extreme ADHD temperaments to a point where their music is obscured. How many times have you heard the ridiculous story of Beethoven writing his 'Moonlight Sonata' (a name ascribed to it by a teary eyed romantic after Beethoven's death) for a student he helplessly fell in l...
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Elder's Violent Shostakovich

The 12th of January saw the arrival of Mark Elder and the Hallè to Leeds Town Hall. The program included Mozart's much loved 23rd piano concerto and Shostakovich's 8th symphony. Leeds Piano competition winner Eric Lu was to tackle the Mozart concerto. Despite the obvious decline in the standard of Leeds International Piano Competition winners, I had high expectations for Eric having heard his fantastic Schubert Impromptus on disc. And to sum it up quickly, I wasn't disappointed nor particularly 'moved'. There is no questioning Lu's virtuosity, his hands jumping and twisting, no mistakes visible.  Also, his soft playing was excellent. However, his communication through the piano was hindered by Elder's approach. The piano, to an almost ridiculous extent, took an accompanying role. For large parts it was inaudible, and the emphasis in the calls and responses was, it seems, strongly on the orchestra. I recall Elder once saying in a masterclass that Mozart Pia...
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