Great Performers: Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Richter described himself as a simple man who happened to play the piano, yet his formidable keyboard mastery and intelligent, dedicated musicianship elicited universal acclaim from colleagues and peers.
Read more…Born into a musical family in Zhitomir, Ukraine on 20 March 1915, Richter was basically self taught, and anything but a prodigy. Still, his extraordinary sight reading ability led to a coaching position with the Odessa Opera at 15. In 1937 he moved to Moscow and auditioned for one of the Moscow Conservatory's most sought-after teachers, Heinrich Neuhaus. Despite Richter's lack of experience and training, Neuhaus immediately perceived his unusual talents. "He freed my hands, and freed me from a very harsh sound I produced," Richter recalled of his teacher in a 1986 interview. "Above all, he taught me the meaning of silence and the meaning of singing." The young Richter also met and worked with Prokofiev, who dedicated his Ninth Sonata to him.
In the 1950s Richter began to perform outside the Soviet Union in other Iron Curtain countries, while the recordings that filtered out to the West generated intense interest and curiosity. In May 1960 he played his first Western concert in Helsinki, and in October embarked on his first tour of the United States, the highlight of which was a Carnegie Hall series that put the pianist on the international map.
Richter's career expanded throughout Europe, and he established an annual festival at La Grange de Meslay north of Tours in France. He toured Japan for the first time in 1970, and, in 1986, crossed Siberia by car, giving hundreds of concerts en route. By this time he had established a pattern of touring small, intimate venues with his Yamaha grand in tow, always playing from the score.
Although Richter likened the recording process to a torture chamber, microphones seemed to follow him everywhere, yielding an immense discography that embraces an unusually wide repertoire, albeit with curious lacunae. He was not one to give complete cycles, save for Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. He played, for example, most but not all of Chopin's Op. 10 and 25 and Liszt's Transcendental Etudes; six out of Schumann's eight 'Fantasiestücke' Op. 12; and Beethoven's "name" sonatas but minus the "Moonlight” and the "Waldstein".
Richter's interpretations were similarly unpredictable, revealing several personas. His tempos varied between extremes. He would tear through certain Liszt and Chopin Etudes as if pursued by hornets, while the long opening movements of Schubert's G Major and B flat Sonatas unfolded at a glacial, monumental pace. Richter's Mozart and Bach could be stylistically anachronistic, and even pedantic in his later years, yet the pianist imbued the French Impressionists and Scriabin Sonatas with extraordinary control of texture and sonority.
Richter gave counsel and support to many aspiring musicians, yet taught no piano lessons and had no direct disciples. He thrived on strenuous tours and ambitious programs, yet did his best to avoid the limelight. The legacy of this remarkable, enigmatic artist continues to fascinate and entice in equal measure.
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