Sviatoslav Richter
Having learned the fundamentals of music from his father, Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter taught himself the piano and had already given public concerts before entering the Moscow Conservatory in 1937. While still a student, Richter won first prize at the All-Union Contest of Performers of 1945. His playing earned him considerable renown, and by the time of his graduation in 1947 he had devoted fans. In 1949 he garnered the coveted Stalin Prize.
Richter gave the 1942 premiere of Sergey Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 6 -- the composer's first work in that form for years, and the first one he did not premiere himself. This resulted in wild acclaim for both performer and composer. Thereafter, Richter was a great proponent of Prokofiev's music, premiering also the Seventh and the Ninth Sonatas, the latter of which is dedicated to him.
Though word of Richter's excellence (and occasional poor-quality recordings) had spread outside of Russia, his foreign engagements were limited to Eastern Bloc countries (and, in one case, China) where Soviet officials felt there was reduced risk of defection. However, his 1958 performance of Prokofiev's Fifth Piano Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra (on tour in Leningrad) generated such excitement that he was finally permitted to tour the United States, further bolstering his reputation as a virtuoso. Engagements in all of world's musical centers followed. Richter was known as a pianist of transcendent abilities, particularly adept at highlighting the nuances of different styles. Though his interests focused primarily on music of Beethoven, and Prokofiev, he was also highly regarded for his Schubert, Schumann, Bach, Debussy, and Ravel; and in the early 1960s he made a memorable recording of Benjamin Britten's Piano Concerto with the composer conducting.
Richter did not favor studio recordings; therefore, most of his recordings are from live performances. Many of them, particularly those from Soviet concerts, suffer from indifferent sound quality and excessive audience noise, but his playing had an electric quality that transcended these handicaps.
The pianist earned a reputation for being difficult and aloof. He was notoriously apt to cancel performances on whims, or arrive late without explanation or apology. However, those who heard him were rarely disappointed. He preferred intimate concert settings over big auditoriums, and thus returned many times to the Aldeburgh and Spoleto Festivals. He was the centerpiece of the Fêtes Musicales, held annually beginning in 1964 at Grange de Meslay, near Tours.
Among his greatest recordings are his Schubert sonatas, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev concertos, Liszt concertos (these have the benefits of first-rate sound), and his Schumann. He has also served as a chamber musician and accompanist, playing piano duets with Britten, and accompanying Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, among others.
© All Music Guide /TiVo
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Berg: Chamber Concerto for Piano, Violin and 13 Wind Instruments
Sviatoslav Richter, Oleg Kagan, Moscow Conservatory Ensemble, Yuri Nikolayevsky
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 31 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter Plays Schubert (Live)
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on 17 Apr 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 & Diabelli Variations
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Sep 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonate pour piano No. 17, Op. 31 No. 2 "La tempête" - Schumann: Fantaisie, Op. 17 (Stereo Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Concertos pour piano Nos. 1 & 2 (Stereo Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Plays Prokofiev
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 29 Sep 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Plays Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Ravel - Live at Mosque Theatre (December 28, 1960)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 5 Jan 2015
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 15 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert : Lieder
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Sviatoslav Richter
Lieder (German) - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1978
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 (Stereo Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, Stanisław Wisłocki, Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Narodowej
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas
Classical - Released by Regis Records on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Robert Schumann: Symphonic Studies, Fantasie Op. 17 & Faschingsschwank aus Wien
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Apr 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pianist Of The Century (Complete DG Solo / Concerto Recordings)
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Well Tempered Clavier (Books I & II, Complete)
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 14 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto; Introduction & Allegro appassionato; Waldszenen
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki, Witold Rowicki
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter plays Liszt & Chopin
Classical - Released by Profil on 17 Aug 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonate pour piano No. 17 "La tempête" - Schumann: Fantaisie, Op. 17 (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2, Variations on a Hungarian Song & Klavierstücke
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Jun 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonatas No. 5 "Spring", No. 6 & No. 9 "Kreutzer"
David Oïstrakh, Sviatoslav Richter, Frida Bauer
Chamber Music - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 Feb 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorák: Piano Concerto. Schubert: Fantasy in C Major D760 'Wanderer'
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin / Liszt / Mussorgsky / Schubert: The Sofia Recital 1958
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2000
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo