Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Richter Teofilowitsch (Russian Святослав Теофилович Рихтер, scientific transliteration Sviatoslav Richter Teofilović; * 7 Märzjul / March 20 1915greg near Zhitomir, Russian Empire, .. † August 1, 1997 in Moscow ) was a German-Russian pianist.
Life and work
His father Theophil Richter came from a German merchant family in today Ukraine Zhitomir, his mother was a Russian merchant's daughter. The family moved to Odessa in 1916, where his father took up the position of organist and choirmaster of the German Lutheran St. Paul's Church. The parents were from the age of three on a solid musical education of the son.
This worked at the age of 15 years as a vocal coach at the opera house in Odessa, four years later, he made his debut as a pianist. In 1937 he was inducted into the piano master class of Heinrich Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his fellow students was Emil Gilels.
The move to Moscow rescued him from the repression to which the ethnic German Lutherans were exposed in Odessa. His father was arrested during the Stalinist purges of 1937 and 1941, shot as an alleged German spy.
In Moscow learned Sviatoslav Richter Sergei Prokofiev know whose sixth sonata he premiered in 1942. Later, the first performances of the 7th and the 9th sonata, the judge is dedicated followed.
After he was already considered as a celebrity in his homeland, he was allowed to travel to the West for the first time in 1960. On October 19, 1960, he made his legendary debut at Carnegie Hall in New York, and followed by a great U.S. tour joined. It was followed by appearances in Europe, from 1971 also in Germany.
Judges initially played much by heart. After he had at a concert in Japan forgotten the score, played a judge in later years during his performances usually after notes. He had often no grade page turner, but flipped several pages at once to and played by heart in between.
Above all, his recordings are legendary: recordings of the B flat minor Piano Concerto Tchaikovsky, the works by Schumann and Liszt and the Well-Tempered Clavier by Johann Sebastian Bach. The interpretation of the C minor Piano Concerto and many preludes by Rachmaninov considered as reference images.
His early recordings are often played extraordinarily powerful and vehement. More than any other pianist, he could give his interpretations of piano works from all periods an individual note, but he was later less of virtuoso who through technical brilliance - caused a stir, but showed his poetic, soft game he - this was self-evident to him often afforded only in dimly lit concert halls.
In addition to his solo career, he also worked as a chamber musician in appearance, as with the violinist David Oistrakh and cellist Pierre Fournier, and Mstislav Rostropovich, as well as in a piano duo with Benjamin Britten. As a conductor, Richter had acquired recognition in previous years.
1986 Richter was awarded the Léonie Sonning Music Prize.
Film
Bruno Monsaingeon published in 1998 his twisted with two and a half hour judge consent autobiographical film documentary " Richter - The Enigma ". In addition to an extensive interview with Judge and his longtime girlfriend, the soprano Nina Dorliak, numerous concert clips are seen. Richter was voiced by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.