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He is numbered among the finest pianists of the 20th century. He exhibited all the best traits of the Russian school of playing: dynamism, lyrical expressiveness, and a wide range of tonal color. Combined with his typical thoughtfulness, subtlety, and attention to style, these qualities assured Richter of a distinguished international career. For many listeners, indeed, he was the paragon of balance among virtuosos, the pianist who exhibited the greatest equality among the elements across his musical palette.
Although born in Zhitomir in Ukraine, he grew up in Odessa. Unusually, Richter was largely self-taught. Although his organistist father provided him with a basic education in music, Sviatoslav learned simply by playing the masterworks of the repertoire, including the piano scores of Wagner's music dramas. He gave his first recital in 1934 but did not formally study piano until three years later, when he enrolled in the Moscow Conservatory, which waived the entrance exam for the young prodigy. He studied with Heinrich Neuhaus who also taught Vladimir Horowitz. In 1940, while still a student, he gave the world premiere of the Sonata No. 6 by Sergei Prokofiev, a composer with whose works he was ever after associated. He also became quite known for the fact that he skipped compulsory lessons at the conservatory and was expelled twice in his first year.
The West first became aware of Richter through recordings made in the 1950s. He was not allowed to tour the United States until 1960, but when he did, he created a sensation. Touring, however, was not Richter's forte. He preferred an intimate concert venue, and in later years took to playing in small, darkened halls, sometimes with only a small lamp lighting his piano. He died in Moscow while studying for a concert series he was to give.
His repertoire spanned virtually all the major works of the piano repertoire. Among his noted recordings are works by Schubert, Beethoven, Bach (whose Wohltemperierte Klavier he is said to have learned by heart in one month), Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and countless others. He gave the premiere of Prokofiev's 7th sonata (which he learned in just four days before staging a performance of the work) and Prokofiev dedicated his 9th sonata to him. Apart from playing solo he also enjoyed playing chamber music with partners such as David Oistrakh, Benjamin Britten, Pierre Fournier and Mstislav Rostropovich.
Regarded by many as the greatest pianist of the twentieth century, Richter had both unsurpassed range of repertoire and depth of interpretation. His recording career spans nearly fifty years, from the early 1950s in Moscow to the 1990s in Europe and Japan. The In Memoriam set on DG 457667 presents an excellent overview of his work, including a selection of Preludes and Fugues from the Bach Well-Tempered Clavier, two Chopin Ballades, the Debussy Estampes, and seven Rachmaninoff Preludes.
Richter's early Schumann recordings on DG 435751 (late 1950s), including the Toccata, Fantasiestucke, and Waldszenen, were highly praised in their day and have not been surpassed. A London recital from 1961, recorded by the BBC (on BBC Legends 4021), includes some of the best Debussy Preludes ever. A 1972 Scriabin recital from Warsaw, featuring the Sonatas 2, 5, and 9 and a selection of Preludes on Music & Arts 878, is hypnotic.
The Russian recordings from the 1950s and 1960s on BMG/Melodiya 29460 (a 10-CD set) are consistently exciting and energetic, which largely makes up for their variable sound quality. This set contains music by composers from Bach to Prokofiev, both solos and Concertos, and includes a fine studio version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. The more famous live Mussorgsky Pictures, on Philips 454946, is plagued by noise from the audience. A flu epidemic was raging in Sofia at the time. Nevertheless, the quality of the playing keeps the listener enthralled. Also on this Philips set are the three War Sonatas of Prokofiev (nos. 6, 7, and 8). Richter is closely identified with these works, having either premiered or given the first public performance of each one, and these recordings rare in that they can truly be called definitive.
On his first visit to the United States in 1960, Richter recorded the Brahms Piano Concerto no. 2 with Erich Leinsdorf on RCA 6518, in a version that has deservedly achieved legendary status.
Richter's interpretation of the last Schubert Sonata, D 960, which can be found on Music & Arts 642 (a live recording from Aldeburgh in 1964) or Olympia 335 (a studio recording from Salzburg in 1972), is famous, even controversial, for its very slow tempos.
Richter was an exceptional accompanist, working with the violinist David Oistrakh, among others. A fine example of this partnership is found on Orfeo 489981, the Brahms and Prokofiev Sonatas from Salzburg 1972. The set of Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Mstislav Rostropovich on Philips 412256 is another one of many examples of this side of Richter's art.
Even near the end of his career, Richter continued to add new works to his repertoire. His late recordings of the Sonatas and English and French Suites of Bach, on Stradivarius 33323, 33333, 33334, and 33335, will please anyone who is not a strict early-instrument purist with their beautifully sculpted sound and considered architecture.Recordings