29/07/2025
🌹 From The Misty Jade Collection 🌹
***Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter (1915–1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist, widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists to have ever lived. Early in his career, he sought out Heinrich Neuhaus, the renowned pianist and piano teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. During Richter’s audition for Neuhaus (where he performed Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 amongst other works, including some of his own) Neuhaus reportedly whispered to a fellow student, “This man’s a genius.” Although Neuhaus taught many great pianists, including Emil Gilels and Radu Lupu, he is said to have considered Richter the “genius pupil, for whom he had been waiting all his life,” while also admitting he taught Richter “almost nothing.” Richter went on to have an extraordinary career, praised for his vast repertoire, virtuosic technique, and the depth of his interpretations.***
Here are some very rare and possibly never before publicly seen photos of the great pianist Sviatoslav Richter, taken by his close friend Elena Dmitrievna Lebedeva. Elena was a piano teacher at a local music school and a resident of either Penza or Kuybyshev (now called Samara). She and Norayr Yegoyan co-wrote and published a book titled Richter Is My Idol. Unfortunately, not much more information is available about her. These photos come from her personal collection.
Captions handwritten on the other side of the photos say:
🎶 Svyatoslav Richter after a concert at the Penza Philharmonics on June 18, 1960.
(Programme: Beethoven Sonatas Nos 3, 9, 10, 22, 23) 🎶
🎶 Svyatoslav Richter.
a) Philharmonic of the city of Penza on June 18, 1960.
b) Richter with the Kuybyshev Orchestra, City of Kuybyshev. 🎶
🎶 Concerts in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), July 20-22, 1986 🎶
