With David Mellor
A Lighthouse and a Seagull
Shortly before Sviatoslav Richter 's death, Russian pianist Vladimir Viardo was in Paris and heard someone practising Schubert in the room above him. He knew it must be his old friend and mentor Richter.
Brought together through their teachers, Richter and Viardo's bond survived emigration to France and America. Now Viardo remembers
Richter the musician, who will always be a beacon for others to aim at, and Slava the man, who suffered grievous loss under Stalin but had a childlike ability to take off into realms of humour, fantasy and poetry.
Rachmaninov Prelude in B flat, Op23/2
Liszt Concerto No 1 in E flat (extract) London Symphony Orchestra, conductor Kirill Kondrashin
Debussy Two Preludes
Beethoven Sonata in F minor, Op 57; Appassionata (extract; mono) Chopin Ballade No 2 in F major (mono)
Schubert Sonata in C, D840 (extract) Prokofiev Sonata No 7 (extract; mono) Discs Repeat