Favourite Piano Concertos (2cd set)

Sviatoslav Richter, whose technical virtuosity combined with subtle introspection, made him one of the preeminent pianists of the 20th century. Though his repertoire was enormous, he was especially praised for his interpretations of J.S. Bach, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Sergey Prokofiev, and Modest Mussorgsky. Initially a composer, by age 20 Richter had devoted himself to the piano. He made his concert debut in 1935 in Odessa, and in 1937 he became a pupil at the Moscow Conservatory. Having met Prokofiev in 1937, Richter went on to premiere the composer’s Sonata No. 6 in 1940, as well as Sonata No. 7 and No. 9 in later years. During the 50’s he toured eastern Europe and China. Meanwhile, the West eagerly awaited Richter’s appearance and in 1960 he debuted at Carnegie Hall. To great acclaim, he subsequently toured western Europe and Japan. Favouring intimate venues, such as the Aldeburgh festival in England, where he played Schubert duets with his friend Benjamin Britten. In 1964 Richter started a lifelong association with the French Fêtes Musicales near Tours. Because he detested the artificiality of the studio, more than half of his recordings were of live performances and made his last appearance in 1970.