Published on Jan 18, 2015 »»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter (Russian: Святослав Теофилович Рихтер Sviatosláv Teofílovich Ríkhter, Russian pronunciation: [svʲjətəsˈlaf tʲɪəˈfʲiləvʲɪtɕ ˈrʲixtər], Ukrainian: Святослав Теофілович Ріхтер; March 20 [O.S. March 7] 1915 – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet pianist well known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Repertoire As Richter once put it, My repertory runs to around eighty different programs, not counting chamber works. His repertoire ranged from Handel and Bach to Szymanowski, Berg, Webern, Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, Britten, and Gershwin. It is perhaps instructive, although baffling, to note the works he did not play: they include Bachs Goldberg Variations, Beethovens Waldstein and Moonlight sonatas and Fourth and Fifth piano concertos, Schuberts A-major sonata D. 959, Prokofievs Third piano concerto, Chopins first piano concerto and second sonata and Rachmaninoffs Piano Concerto No. 3. Richter worked tirelessly to learn new pieces. For instance, in the late 1980s, he learned Brahmss Paganini and Handel Variations, and in the 1990s, several of Debussys études and Gershwin, and works by Bach and Mozart that he had not previously included in his programs. Central to his repertoire were the works of Schubert, Schumann, Beethoven, J. S. Bach, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev and Debussy. He is said to have learned the second book of Bachs The Well-Tempered Clavier by heart in one month. He gave the premiere of Prokofievs Sonata No. 7, which he learned in four days, and No. 9, which Prokofiev dedicated to Richter. Apart from his solo career, he also performed chamber music with partners such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Rudolf Barshai, David Oistrakh, Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Natalia Gutman, Zoltán Kocsis, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Benjamin Britten and members of the Borodin Quartet. Richter also often accompanied singers such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Peter Schreier, Galina Pisarenko and his long-time companion Nina Dorliak. Richter also conducted the premiere of Prokofievs Symphony-Concerto for cello and orchestra. This was his sole appearance as a conductor. The soloist was Rostropovich, to whom the work was dedicated. Prokofiev also wrote his 1949 Cello Sonata in C for Rostropovich, and he and Richter premiered it in 1950. Richter himself was a passable cellist, and Rostropovich was a good pianist; at one concert in Moscow at which he accompanied Rostropovich on the piano, they exchanged instruments for part of the program. Approach to performance Richter explained his approach to performance as follows: The interpreter is really an executant, carrying out the composers intentions to the letter. He doesnt add anything that isnt already in the work. If he is talented, he allows us to glimpse the truth of the work that is in itself a thing of genius and that is reflected in him. He shouldnt dominate the music, but should dissolve into it. Or, similarly: I am not a complete idiot, but whether from weakness or laziness have no talent for thinking. I know only how to reflect: I am a mirror . . . Logic does not exist for me. I float on the waves of art and life and never really know how to distinguish what belongs to the one or the other or what is common to both. Life unfolds for me like a theatre presenting a sequence of somewhat unreal sentiments; while the things of art are real to me and go straight to my heart.[ Richters belief that musicians should carry ... out the composers intentions to the letter, led him to be critical of others and, most often, himself. After attending a recital of Murray Perahia, where Perahia performed Chopins Third Piano Sonata without observing the first movement repeat, Richter asked him backstage to explain the omission. Similarly, after Richter realized that he had been playing a wrong note in Bachs Italian Concerto for decades, he insisted that the following disclaimer/apology be printed on a CD containing a performance thereof: Just now Sviatoslav Richter realized, much to his regret, that he always made a mistake in the third measure before the end of the second part of the Italian Concerto. As a matter of fact, through forty years – and no musician or technician ever pointed it out to him – he played F-sharp rather than F. The same mistake can be found in the previous recording made by Maestro Richter in the fifties.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:44:17 +0000
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