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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Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1; Piano Concerto No.2
Sviatoslav Richter, London Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2001
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 4 Ballades by Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 15 Nov 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: Pictures At an Exhibition Prokofiev: Piano Sonata Nos. 7 & Piano Concerto No.1
Sviatoslav Richter, Prague Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Regis Records on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Plays Brahms, Liszt & Schubert
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 27 Jan 1992
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2
Sviatoslav Richter, Mikhail Kopelman, Dimitri Shebalin, Valentin Berlinsky
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 16 and 17 – Richter
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 6 Mar 2020
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Plays Prokofiev
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 16 Jun 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Fantasie in C, Faschingsschwank aus Wien & Papillons
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev, Scriabin & Ravel: Out of Later Years, Vol. II
Classical - Released by Live Classics on 12 Aug 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos No. 1 & 2
Classical - Released by Urania on 3 Feb 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Die schöne Magelone, Op. 33
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 31 May 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Plays Prokofiev, Debussy and Chopin - Live at Mosque Theatre (December 28, 1960)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 5 Jan 2015
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata" by Sviatoslav Richter (2023 Remastered, Studio 1960)
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on 20 Nov 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Winterreise / Piano Sonata in C, D840 (2 CDs)
Peter Schreier, Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
DVORÁK: PIANO CONCERTO IN SOL min Op. 33; LISZT: PIANO CONCERTO No. 1, No. 2
Classical - Released by Nar Classical on 1 Jun 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Legendary Pianists: Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by The Golden Legacy of Music on 8 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini, Schumann & Mozart: Orchestral Music (Live)
Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Sviatoslav Richter, Gerhart Hetzel, Riccardo Muti, Rudolf Streng
Classical - Released by Orfeo on 22 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23 (Remastered, Mono Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Symphoniker
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Concerto pour piano No. 1, Op. 23 (Mono Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, Eugène Mravinski, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Concerto pour piano No. 20 - Prokofiev: Concerto pour piano No. 5 (Mono Version)
Sviatoslav Richter, Orkiestra Symfoniczna Filharmonii Narodowej, Witold Rowicki
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert: Piano Works
Sviatoslav Richter, Edwin Fischer, Walter Gieseking
Classical - Released by The Golden Legacy of Music on 31 Jul 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo