Szymanowski: Masques Op. 34

A much sought-after and rare recital of the great Sviatoslav Richter featuring unusual repertoire - Szymanowski and Bartok.

Richter gave the premiere of the Prokofiev Sonata No.7 'Stalingrad' in 1943. It is a tour de force and shows off Richter's incomparable technique and power. Richter also gave premieres of Prokofiev's Sonata No.6 and No.9 and remained a close friend of the composer during his lifetime.

Richter was perhaps the first great pianist to promote the Schubert sonatas and recorded all of them including the incomplete ones (with the curious omission of the A major D959). He was also credited with raising their profile to that accorded to Beethoven and Mozart.

Recorded at a packed Royal Festival Hall In 1970 when Richter was at the height of his powers and fame.

BBC Legends has the largest catalogue of Richter broadcasts which have all sold exceptionally well.

The impressionistic Métopes was composed in 1915, following a visit to Sicily. The title refers to the spaces on a classical frieze in which a sculptor would add decorative scenes, and each section depicts a character and location from Homer‘s Odyssey. One year later came the trilogy Masques, which portrays the story-telling Shéhérazade, an episode from the legend of Tristan and Isolde and a Sérénade de Don Juan. Soon after these examples of programme music, the composer returned to pure sonata form in the Third Sonata, his last major work for solo piano. This remains based in Impressionism, but also achieves a synthesis between that and the style of earlier works

“I want my singing to have drama, to send a message, sometimes people cry when they hear me-this is what's important. I want people to love me or hate me because of the emotion of my singing” Ewa Podles

Wigmore Hall Live proudly presents an all-Russian and Polish recital by the enigmatic Ewa Podles, widely regarded as the world’s leading contralto and one of the true great singers of our time.

Recorded live at Wigmore Hall on 23 January 2008, this release marked Ewa Podles´ return to the Wigmore Hall stage after an absence of sixteen years.

With her unique, dramatic voice of staggering range, agility and amplitude, Ewa Podles gives the kind of towering performance that has come to be expected of an artist who has acquired cult status and a near-fanatical following within the operatic world.

In addition to her rigorous operatic calendar, which notably includes her highly-publicised return this year to the Metropolitan Opera Stage after twenty-four years, Podles´ is one of the most acclaimed recital and concert performers in the world.

Accompanying Podles´ is the distinguished Garrick Ohlsson, whose solo performance of Szymanowski’s Masques “was a mastery display of sustained and imaginative virtuosity, matching the singer’s” Opera Now