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 plays Rachmaninov
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 4 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Marsch No.2, Op.76; Waldszenen, Op.82; Fantasiestücke, Op.12
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor - Préludes Op.32 (Album of 1959)
Sviatoslav Richter, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Stanislaw Wislocki
Classical - Released by GazzaLadra on 1 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel & Rachmaninoff: Piano Works (Live)
Classical - Released by Archipel on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Bunte Blätter, Op. 99 & Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 1 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Waldszenen, Fantasiestücke and Shostakovich: Marsche, Preludes and Fugues
Classical - Released by Supraphon a.s. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter in Italy. Schumann: Papillons, Piano Sonata No. 2 & Carnival of Vienna
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 15 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonatas for Cello and Piano
Sviatoslav Richter, Mstislav Rostropovich
Classical - Released by Music Online on 4 Feb 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns & Gershwin: Piano Concertos
Sviatoslav Richter, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Christoph Eschenbach
Classical - Released by SWR Classic on 25 May 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 31 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann & Beethoven: Piano Works
Classical - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 2 Dec 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Piano Works
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 27 Oct 2017
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert & Liszt: Piano Works
Classical - Released by Urania Records on 1 Jan 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Double Concerto - Beethoven: Triple Concerto
David Oïstrakh, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 1 Jan 1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Out of Later Years, Vol. V - French Suites
Classical - Released by Live Classics on 26 Apr 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann - Sviatoslav Richter
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 23 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert Piano Sonatas 13 & 14, Impromptus
Classical - Released by Musical Concepts on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter the Master - Brahms & Schumann
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Concerto No. 2, Op. 83/Beethoven: Sonata No. 23, Op. 57
Classical - Released by RCA Gold Seal on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richter the Master - Bach & Chopin
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sviatoslav Richter Plays Haydn, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Ravel - Live at Carnegie Hall (December 26, 1960)
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 5 Jan 2015
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo