John Drummond presents an evening of music and features celebrating the life of Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, and is joined by Richter's biographer Bruno Monsaingeon in a journey through the artist's career. With contributions from friends, colleagues and people whose lives were touched by his music.
7.00 Liszt Concert Study No 2
(Gnomenreigen) (Rosenheim, 1988)
Followed by an introduction to the evening ahead.
7.10 Musorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition (Sofia, 1958)
7.40 Moscow (1937-56)
Richter's early years in Russia.
7.55 Rimsky-Korsakov Piano Concerto in C sharp minor Moscow Youth Orchestra, conductor Kiril Kondrashin (Moscow, 1950)
8.15 Richter and Prokofiev David Fanning considers Richter's historic relationship with Prokofiev and his music.
8.30 Prokofiev Piano Sonata No 8, Op 84 (London, 1961)
9.00 The Western Dam Is Breached (1957-69)
Richter gave his first recital in the west in May 1960. John Drummond presents some of his performances from this time, including Beethoven in New York, Debussy and Liszt in London and Schubert in Paris.
10.00 The Complete Repertory on 50 LPs (1970-77)
During the seventies Richter expressed a desire to record his entire repertory, a project that he eventually abandoned. Yet today the Richter discography fills nearly 100 pages. What was his attitude to recording and what is his recording legacy?
10.45 Schubert Fantasie in F minor for piano duet, D940
With Benjamin Britten (Aldeburgh, 1965)
11.05 Aldeburgh
Marion Thorpe considers Richter's association with Benjamin Britten and the Aldeburgh Festival.
11.15 The Final Years (1978-97)
In the last 20 years of his life Richter was actively engaged in touring and his choice of concert venue was often surprising.
11.20 Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 5 in D, BWV 1050 Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Oleg Kagan (violin), Moscow Conservatory Instrumental Ensemble, conductor Yuri Nicolaievsky (Moscow, 1978)
11.40 The Richter Notebooks
Hilary Finch explores Richter's notebooks - his jottings on musicians he met and the music he heard in his last years.
11.50 Summary
11.57 Rachmaninov Prelude in G sharp minor, Op 32 No 12 (Sofia, 1958)
The genius that was Sviatoslav Richter p46
