Description
This is a review of the music of cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and pianist Sviatoslav Richter of Beethoven's cello sonatas. The reviewer states that these recordings are the "most virtuosic, the most lyrical, the most dramatic, the most expressive, the most intense, the most ecstatic, and, in a word, the greatest ever recorded." The reviewer also states that these recordings are a "precis of the highlights of his career as a composer." The reviewer concludes that these recordings are "as good as it gets in this world."
This set of recordings made in 1963 by cellist Mstislav
Rostropovich and pianist Sviatoslav Richter of Beethoven's cello
sonatas are the most virtuosic, the most lyrical, the most
dramatic, the most expressive, the most intense, the most ecstatic,
and, in a word, the greatest ever recorded. From the Empfindung
style of the Op. 5 sonatas through the Eroica style of the Op. 69
sonata to the Elysium style of the Op. 102 sonatas, Beethoven's
five cello sonatas are a precis of the highlights of his career as
a composer.
And from their extraordinary virtuosity, through their singing tone
and their muscular rhythms to their translucent ensemble,
Rostropovich and Richter's performances are the scores aurally
realized and transformed through their consummate musicianship. Of
course, you should hear the Casals/Serkin for its soulful depths,
the Fournier/Kempff for its noble lyricism, and the Maisky/Argerich
for its passionate virtuosity. But at the end of the day, it's the
Rostropovich/Richter that you'll want to go home with. Like
Schnabel's piano sonatas and Kreisler and Rupp's violin sonatas,
Rostropovich and Richter's cello sonatas are the ones you'll want
to grow old with. This is as good as it gets in this world.
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