This exemplary 154-minute documentary about the great Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter includes some wonderful archive footage and a lot of worthwhile discussion of one of the more remarkable of 20th-century concert careers. Richter was an extraordinary combination of poet, mystic and superb technician, as fine in the more spiritually ruminative moments of Johann Sebastian Bach as he was in the more spectacular display pieces of Franz Liszt. He was also in an interesting place at an interesting time--able to interpret the works of Prokofiev and Shostakovich when they were freshly minted, and able to play alongside other great virtuosi like Oistrakh and Rostopovich (there is some wonderful footage here of the three of them performing the Beethoven Triple Concerto under Karajan). Richter was as fine as a soloist with great orchestras as he was as accompanist--we see him with Fischer-Dieskau in Hugo Wolf's quirky song "Der Feierreiter"--but his true love was the recital; much of his long career was taken up with an endless pilgrimage around the civic centres of Soviet Russia, spreading the word of great music. --Roz Kaveney

Although Rick Wakeman has recorded an enormous number of solo projects, this multi-region DVD-plus-CD set Rick Wakeman 2000--Live in Concert must surely be the best in terms of sheer value, quite apart from the fact that the performance is very good. Even long after the glory days of Yes and his grandiose solo albums of the 1970s Wakeman, the inventor of rock keyboards (before him there were pianists and organists, while after him there were programmers), remains a consummate performer. Taken from one of his one-man shows, in which he mixes musical items from his entire career with some expertly delivered anecdotes, there's something in this bumper parcel to please every fan. The dozen tracks on the DVD include extracts from his solo albums Henry, Arthur, Journey, some Yes music, the brilliant (and hilarious) "Nursery Rhyme Concerto" and much more, while his story about the theatre organ in Seattle is alone worth the price of the set. The extra audio CD features all the music on the show, while the DVD itself has six extra audio-only tracks plus a very funny biography and a photo gallery. --Roger Thomas