However, the subject matter, a Chopin and Liszt piano music compilation from the hands of Sviatoslav Richter, is altogether beyond my repeated poor attempts at humour.
When I was compiling said shopping list yesterday, you see (in my head), the 2-disc set in question was a big "maybe":
According to Decca, the recordings dated from 1988, and that was not generally Richter's best period (old as he was, by then). But he did have moments of brilliance in that era, and I couldn't rule out the possibility. And what of the Liszt B minor sonata, always tricky?
Yet in any affair, I finally caved in and put it in the shopping list, spent a whole lot more money than I planned between it and Horowitz's last public recital (superb), and was amply rewarded!
For that is no mere recital, in that Richter disc (was that trite enough?): it is genius caught on record, the legendary pianist at his elusive best throughout. In fact, his best period too, if information I was given placing the recordings in 1966 is correct (very likely).
Masterful and deeply profound, this is a disc that I would recommend to all Chopin or Liszt lovers, or anyone wanting to find out what either composer can sound like in such great hands.
Edit: Added a snide self-critical remark, which you can ignore; I couldn't.
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