in Memoriam Albert Dderlein

This Deutsche Grammophon compilation is an excellent celebration of the talents of the great pianist Sviatoslav Richter. In keeping with his own approach, the choice of music demonstrates that there is much more to piano virtuosity than the ability to play fast and loud. He could do this, of course, but here we also experience his phenomenal control over the `colour' of each note (the Bach D minor prelude) his poise (the Debussy Estampes) and his intellectual grasp of structure (the Chopin F minor Ballade which also superbly demonstrates his ability to make the piano roar, whisper or sing).

orn in Lucerne in 1911, Albert Ferber studied with a pupil of Alfred Cortot and often played for Rachmaninov in Switzerland. International critics visiting the 1939 Lucerne Festival were impressed by an exceptional Swiss pianist who also showed in works of Schubert and Schumann some uncommon pianistic gifts. Such sympathy of idiom is readily apparent in Ferbers postwar Decca recordings, made in London. His pedigree in Schumann was unimpeachable: in 1951 he partnered Clara Schumanns pupil Adelina de Lara in a performance of Schumanns Andante and Variations, Op. 46 for two pianos at her Wigmore farewell recital.