Richter conquered Paris with these Schubert scores. The last and immense Piano Sonata No.21 in B flat major, D960 (1828) stayed a long time in his repertoire chasing the 'small' sonatas. He captures the brillant ambiguity of this series of exclamations, more a cycle of impromptus than a real sonata pace Beethoven; its strict architecture opposing its instinctive imaginativeness. Richter exudes overwhelming charm over an isolated Impromptu before respecting the post-Mozartian baroque approach in the 1819 'small' A major Sonata D 664.
Recorded September 24 1972 [D960], June 10 1956, June 10-11 1962. Previously available as PR254032 [1994], CDM78726/7 [1993]
