BBC Legends are unstinting where Sviatoslav Richter is concerned and this two­CD set is taken from recitals given between 1967­69 in Aldeburgh‚ London and Manchester. This was a time when Richter was often at his very height‚ his early instability (being dubbed the world’s greatest pianist imposed an impossible strain) resolved in playing of a fascinating and imperious mastery. He shows a delectably deft sense of Haydn’s whimsy in the E major Sonata‚ Hob XV1/22‚ and his way with two Chopin Nocturnes is entirely his own – poised and translucent‚ though erupting spectacularly in the central storm of Op 15 No 1. Richter on several occasions confessed himself wary of Chopin‚ daunted by Artur Rubinstein’s spell‚ but here he need fear no comparisons. His way with Beethoven‚ whether in the Op 22 Sonata or the Eroica Variations is both graceful and athletic. Repeats are religiously observed and are used as a means of affirmation rather than an opportunity for further exploration. The Adagio from Op 22 has a matchless limpidity and refinement‚ whereas in Variation 2 from Op 35 he sets the keyboard ablaze in a glorious underlining of the home key. He delights in the wildly hiccuping humour of Variation 9‚ creates a deep pool of calm in Variation 15 before launching the final fugue in magnificently assured style. Richter’s Schumann is‚ again‚ entirely individual with a slow elegiac start‚ a second étude where vehemence comes close to violence‚ and a notably mercurial‚ light­fingered spin through Etude No 3. The beautiful posthumous études are sandwiched between Nos 5 and 6‚ and if the overall performance is less pianistically acute or luxuriously characterised than by Géza Anda in his benchmark recording (reissued on Testament) it is never less than masterly. But if I was to choose a single highlight from these discs it would be the selection of 12 Rachmaninov Preludes where Richter’s empathy for his great compatriot is overwhelming. How he relishes the transformation of Chopin’s melancholy into a timeless Slavonic malaise in the F sharp minor Prelude‚ confirms the stature of the B minor (the greatest of all)‚ catches the ebb and flow‚ the constant demand for ritenuto and accelerando in the G sharp minor or gently coaxes every ounce of Chopinesque charm from the A flat‚ Op 23 No 8; in his hands a cascading enchantment indeed. The odd inaccuracy or lapse of concentration does nothing to modify one’s response to performances of such calibre‚ and if there are moments when Richter teasingly steps aside to allow the composer his own voice‚ he remains indubitably Richter. The recorded sound‚ considering the dates and circumstances‚ is excellent and the set is handsomely presented.