A bargain in a million, albeit one that reflects two very different aspects of Richter's art. The concertos are strong, clear-headed, brilliantly executed and superbly accompanied. Philips confess Mercury engineering, and Wilma Cozart-Fine has herself remastered the original three-track tapes – which means that what started out as a clean-cut, judiciously balanced production, now sounds fuller, brighter and keener-edged than ever. The improvements are particularly telling where Kondrashin and the LSO are concerned: everything tells with more presence than before (need I say?) which, given the lofty standard of orchestral playing, is a real boon. As to Richter, his pianissimos are rapt, his running passages crystal-clear and the stormier elements in both concertos are given with immense force.
The Sonata, a concert performance, was recorded almost 30 years later on a somewhat less well-tuned instrument. However, the mind behind the notes has lost none of its grip and the notes themselves, although occasionally blurred or botched, spring to life as in no other performance I know (save for a couple of live Richter alternatives). The Allegro energico and final peroration rage mercilessly, while the closing Lento assai can rarely have sounded so calmly inevitable. In terms of sound, things aren't as well managed as in the concertos: there's the odd thump or cough and the piano tone is a mite shallow, but the performance is so compelling that you soon forget any sonic inadequacies. One for every music lover's Christmas stocking.'