Beethoven, Ludwig van - Diabelli Variations - Richter, Sviatoslav (piano)

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Sviatoslav Richter [piano]

Sviatoslav Richter never played the 'Moonlight' Sonata in public - quite extraordinary when you consider that the opening adagio is one of the most performed keyboard pieces ever.

Here we have an unusual juxtaposition of two very different aspects of Beethoven's oeuvre. Sonata No. 31, prefaces the disarray of the adagio of the 15th Quartet op.132, and has no dedicatee, but Richter's incomparable art of legato makes it irresistible. The 'Diabelli Variations', like the 'Art of Fugue' or Bach's 'Goldberg Variations', are not ideal in concert, too introspective or better served in bite-sized chunks. Richter offers his unique view leading from Bach to Stockhausen via Mozart and anticipating the pianism of Chopin and Liszt.