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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Sviatoslav Richter 100, Volume 36 (Live)
Klassik - Erschienen bei JSC Firma Melodiya am 01.01.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata for piano no. 3 Op. 2,3 , no. 4 Op 7, no. 5 Op 10,1
Sviatoslav Richter, Daniela Ruso, Mario Ratko-Delorko
Klassik - Erschienen bei Digital Masterworks am 24.09.2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23 (Mono Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Symphoniker
Verschiedenes - Erschienen bei BNF Collection am 01.01.1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter 100, Volume 9 (Live)
Klassik - Erschienen bei JSC Firma Melodiya am 01.01.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter 100, Volume 7 (Live)
Klassik - Erschienen bei JSC Firma Melodiya am 01.01.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter 100, Volume 34 (Live)
Klassik - Erschienen bei JSC Firma Melodiya am 01.01.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter In Hungary (Editionale Debussy)
Claude Debussy, Sviatoslav Richter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Drug Boulevard am 15.03.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Piano Sonatas
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1 / Rachmaninov: Préludes
Sviatoslav Richter, Wiener Symphoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No.2 / Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No.1
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki, Wiener Symphoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 07.04.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin Gold
Maurizio Pollini, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Lang Lang, Sviatoslav Richter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter - In Memoriam
Klassik - Erschienen bei Deutsche Grammophon (DG) am 01.01.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Klavier 1. und 2. Teil - BWV 846-869 und 870-893
Klassik - Erschienen bei RCA Gold Seal am 30.12.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Masterpieces: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vol. I (Recordings of 1954 - 1959)
Eugene Ormandy, Sviatoslav Richter, Charles Munch
Klassik - Erschienen bei Masterpieces am 01.04.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 & 2, BWV 846-893
Klassik - Erschienen bei Russian Compact Disc am 06.01.2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Recital - Live at Carnegie Hall, October 25, 1960
Klassik - Erschienen bei Sony Classical am 27.10.2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Music for Cello and Piano
Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter, Maurice Gendron, Jean Françaix
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.01.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The Cello Sonatas
Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter
Klassik - Erschienen bei Decca Music Group Ltd. am 01.10.1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1; Piano Sonatas Nos. 22 & 23: Classic Library Series
Klassik - Erschienen bei RCA Red Seal am 17.05.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter Plays Bach
Klassik - Erschienen bei Stradivarius am 01.01.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition by Sviatoslav Richter at Sofia
Klassik - Erschienen bei Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording am 11.01.2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo