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. As Richter once put it, “My repertory runs to around eighty different programs, not counting chamber works.” Indeed, Richter’s repertoire ranged from Handel and Bach to Szymanowski, Berg, Webern, Stravinsky, Bartók, Hindemith, Britten, and Gershwin, although the works he did not play are curious (they include Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Beethoven’s Waldstein and Moonlight sonatas and Fourth and Fifth piano concertos, Schubert’s A-major sonata D. 959, Prokofiev’s Third piano concerto, Chopin’s first piano concerto and second sonata and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3). Richter worked tirelessly to learn new pieces. For instance, in the late 1980s, he learned Brahms’s Paganini and Handel Variations, and in the 1990s, several of Debussy’s études and Gershwin, and works by Bach and Mozart which 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 Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier by heart in one month. He gave the premiere of Prokofiev’s 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 Prokofiev’s 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. Despite his large discography, Richter disliked the recording process, and most of Richter’s recordings originate from live performances. Thus, his live recitals from Moscow (1948), Warsaw (1954 and 1972), Sofia (1958), New York City (1960), Leipzig (1963), Aldeburgh (multiple years), Prague (multiple years), Salzburg (1977) and Amsterdam (1986), are hailed as some of the finest documents of his playing, as are other myriad live recordings issued prior to and since his death on labels including Music & Arts, BBC Legends, Philips, Russia Revelation, Parnassus, and more recently Ankh Productions… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sviatoslav_Richter
A link to this wonderful artists personal Website: http://www.richtercompetition.com/2008/
Please Enjoy!
I send my kind and warm regards,