Sviatoslav Richter & Yuri Bashmet Hindemith; Britten; Sjostakovitsj (1992)

The central work in the recital is Brittens Lachrymae. Richters close association with the composer afforded him a deep understanding of Brittens sound-world. Both he and Bashmet find a huge amount in the work, with each variation or reflection being sculpted in the most intensely characterised way imaginable. Seldom does one hear this work vested with such colour and startlingly juxtaposed sonorities, each adding to the disquietingly cumulative, slow revelation of Dowlands song. Ive never heard it played with such personalised and emotive control as here. It bears some similarity with the Czech performance of 1979 by Josef Kodousek and Kveta Novotná who take an identical tempo but its altogether more viscerally shaped than that excellent performance. (...) (Van: musicweb-international.com)