4 Comments

1. 

   Ates Orga on January 10, 2025 at 11:53 am

   Contrary to the YouTube listing, this was not a BBC Prom. The 1961 Proms opened on 22 July that year. This performance took place on 16 July. Richter never appeared at the Proms.

   Reply
   • 

     canderson on January 10, 2025 at 12:55 pm

     Thanks Ates for the clarification.

     Reply
2. 

   Peter Jenkins on January 10, 2025 at 12:33 pm

   This Prom performance of the Dvorak Piano Concerto was given during Richter’s first visit to London in 1961, during which he also played (and recorded for Philips) the two Liszt concertos, accompanied to the hilt – as here too – by the LSO under Kondrashin.

   The poetic and dramatic elements of the Dvorak concerto are here rendered to perfection in a performance that is superbly shaped by Kondrashin, a conductor who clearly had a great affinity with the Czech composer. Yesterday I was listening to his early digital recording of the Ninth Symphony, made for Decca circa 1980. Slightly overlooked these days, but equally impressive.

   What a treat it has been to encounter this inspired account of a work that is generally rather under-rated. It’s been a 64 year wait, but at last we can hear it in all its glory.

   Reply
3. 

   Peter Jenkins on January 10, 2025 at 8:20 pm

   Point taken, Mr Orga! The mistake was surely due to the word ‘Prom’ in the YouTube banner and to the passage of six decades.

   Richter’s RAH concert of the two Liszt concertos and Hungarian Fantasy was a late addition to his London schedule – announced only a day or two before the event. I rushed off to buy myself a seat in the Balcony and vividly recall the mood of eager anticipation that ran through the hall. Would that I’d also been there a day or two earlier for the Dvorak!

   Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.