Weissenberg And Karajan Play Tchaikovsky And Rachmaninov 1967 1971 [hdtv 720p]

This 1995 release from Deutsche Grammophon combines two memorable concerto recordings by Sviatoslav Richter. Almost all of Richter's recordings are considered legendary – particularly since he did not like recording in the studio – but these are rightfully so. They were some of the first that were released widely in the west, where he was still something of a new talent in the late '50s-early '60s, although a middle-aged man by then. The Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2 with Stanislaw Wislocki and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra dates from 1959 and was met with high praise from most for its detail and the depth of Richter's knowledgable interpretation. It is not as ardent as most other pianists' readings, but its clarity speaks volumes and can still move the listener.

The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra was founded in 1948 and has always played a key role in the development of the classical music scene in South Korea. The appointment of the respected Myung-Whun Chung as music director and principal conductor in 2005 heralded an artistic renaissance for the orchestra. And now that the famous German yellow label has, by way of maestro Chung, taken the Seoul Philharmonic under its wings, the ensemble also seems destined for brilliant horizons outside of the Korean border.

Deep in the heart of the Cold War, there was once a miracle in Moscow – Texas-based classical pianist Van Cliburn, of whom no one had heard, conquered at the First Tchaikovsky Competition, an event set aside to showcase Soviet talent. Cliburn was warned by his own government not to go, given the tense political relationship between the United States and Soviet Union at the time, and once he arrived he was greeted as a party crasher, subject to hostile stares and animosity of the kind he had never dreamed of back in Texas. And it was Cliburn, at the end, which brought down the house, and held the award. Back in America, he was greeted with a ticker tape parade and was the subject of a best-selling biography by Abram Chasins, The Van Cliburn Story, copies of which continue to clog the shelves of American thrift stores five decades hence. Ultimately, though, Cliburn's celebrity lost its luster. Nerves, ultra-picky perfectionism, and mishandling by management led to his early retirement from the concert scene; his greatest latter-day achievement being the force behind the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, America's most prestigious such event.