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 Read more
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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Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos Nos.2 & 1
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Apr 7, 2015
This 1995 release from Deutsche Grammophon combines two memorable concerto recordings by Sviatoslav Richter. Almost all of Richter's recordings are co ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Grand Piano Sonata & The Seasons (excerpts)
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Sep 1, 2016
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Symphony No. 3
Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Evgueni Mravinski
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Nov 1, 2013
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Frédéric Chopin: Etudes, Ballades, Nocturnes & Polonaise-Fantaisie
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Oct 1, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique"
Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Evgueni Mravinski
Symphonies - Released by Praga Digitals on Nov 30, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninov: Etudes-Tableaux & Preludes (excerpts)
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Oct 1, 2014
This disc has two strikes against it. It's a reissue and it's a mash-up of excerpts from various collections of short pieces, which means that the com ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos 7, 12 & 23 "Appassionata"
Classical - Released by Supraphon a.s. on Jan 28, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos. 27, 28 & 29 "Hammerklavier"
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Nov 1, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Edvard Grieg & Antonín Dvořák: Piano Concertos
Sviatoslav Richter, Kirill Kondrashin, Vaclav Smetacek
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on May 1, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 - Chopin: Etudes and Polonaise
Classical - Released by Supraphon a.s. on Jan 18, 2008
Two factors should disqualify this disc immediately. First, the pieces are incomplete and out of order. Second, and arguably more crucially, the piani ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Liszt: Piano Sonata, 8 Études d'exécution transcendante & other piano works
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Mar 1, 2014
5 de Diapason24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2, 4 Preludes
Sviatoslav Richter, Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, USSR Radio-TV State Symphony Orchestra, Kurt Sanderling
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Jan 1, 2008
5 de Diapason24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 16 & 17
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Oct 30, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert: Piano Sonatas Nos. 13 & 21, Impromptu No. 4
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Oct 1, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No. 23 "Appassionata", No. 17 "The Tempest" & No. 18
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Nov 1, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Fantasy for Piano, Waldszenen, Fantasiestücke, Marsch
Classical - Released by Supraphon a.s. on Jan 18, 2008
The music of Robert Schumann and the artistry of Sviatoslav Richter are a natural match. Schumann was loathe to use flashy, purely virtuosic elements ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition by Sviatoslav Richter at Sofia
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Jan 11, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 31 & Diabelli Variations
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Sep 1, 2012
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonatas No. 3, No. 7, No. 12 "Marcia funebre" & No. 22
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Oct 1, 2013
Diapason d'or24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Well Tempered Clavier, I & II (Live Innsbruck 1973)
Classical - Released by Parnassus on May 20, 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johannes Brahms: Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2, Variations on a Hungarian Song & Klavierstücke
Classical - Released by Praga Digitals on Jun 1, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo