Just got my copy today and really looking forward to reading it. I think I heard him live only once and was too young to understand what I was hearing.
http://www.upne.com/1-55553-710-3.html
http://www.danishliterarymagazine.dk/index.php?id=1599

(Available at Amazon for around $27)

oooo, interesting. Didn't know about this - thanks pianoloverus. I want it.

I have been for the English translation. Amazon still says pre-order. Did you get it from upne?

Will it tell the truth, or just settle for the whitewash of the initial Cole Porter biography?

Interesting anecdote: when a Richter recital was announced in Italy towards the end of his life, guess who requested a ticket: Martha Argerich.

What do you mean? the truth about his sexuality?it id common knowledge but why should it matter much? he clearly cherished his privacy.



They have some demons in common I think.. her biography could be interesting , if she were to allow an outsider to get close enough.

I preordered at Barnes & Noble.

Thanks. Do you mean in person or online?

My son's piano teacher has a free copy directly from the U.S. publisher; he wrote reviews, etc.

I had chance to read the first 15-20 pages or so during my son's last class. The book was very good. The authors put into quite a lot of information relating to the political and social background so that the readers can have a better and deeper understanding of Richter, his behavior, and his artistic attributes.

I cannot wait for the my son's next class.

I definitely order the book- after I return from my holiday in Orlando. Can't think of anything else I'd rather read!

Here's a shocker, at least for me, from Chapter 1. In the 1960's, the Russian government arranged all concerts outside of Russia for Richter and Gilels. The government took most of the money from the concerts.

How much do you think Richter and Gilels were paid/concert in the 1960's?

(a)$25 (b)200 (c)$1000 (d)$2500

I'm not surprised the Soviet govt "liberated" the profits from the "exploitation" of Richter & Gilels by the evil western capitalists. Thats how they did things back then. Horowitz' success must have rankled them severely.

You didn't specify whether these concerts were early 60's or later in the decade but....I'll bite....(c) $1000

(b) They weren't the only pianists whose concerts were arranged by the Russian government. When playing outside of Russian most every pianist had a government "trailer" that accompanied them. Read Ashkenazy's, "Beyond Frontiers", some time. There's some very interesting information about the life of a concert artist in Russia in that book.

I just ordered my copy from B/N. I remember hearing him in 1965 in Orchestra Hall in Chicago. What an experience!!

According to the new Richter bio, Richter and Gilels received about $200 per concert($1400 in today's money)for their concerts in the 1960's.

Yay! I win. Now what do I get Johnny?

But didn't rankle enough for them to defect (I know, I know, easier said than done). And at least from what I have read of Richter's character, he simply was not a very materialistic person, so maybe he just didn't care. Gilels I have read very little about as a person.


Anyway, I remember reading that instead of getting paid in money, they got "gifts" of tangible items, which the Soviet government would frequently allow. So the artist would let the concert people know stuff they wanted, and it would be "given" to them, but it was really sort a of form of barter for giving the concert.

It was also a good deal for the pianists, along the lines of lesser evil. Concertizing in the US and Western Europe then returning home made the Soviet govt look good and got it off the back of the performer to some extent. A mutually beneficial relationship. Richter was very independent minded and walked a fine line with the regime. He was kicked out of the Moscow conservatory on 2 occasions for skipping indoctrination classes and they kept him home until rather late in his career (in his 40s).
He is said to have disliked the US and specifically citing cocktails, orchestras, museums and movies as the main attraction and nothing else.
What I would hope to learn from his biography is the dichotomy between a highly visible performer and an intensely reclusive, discreet, almost ascetic private person.

Is there anything else? .... only kidding!

I recently returneed from my first visit to New York and, I loved it. A concert in Carnegie Hall was the high spot (Radu Lupu) but the city enthralled me so much, in so many ways.

For Richter fans and history buffs. this is the NYT review of Richter's debut at Carnegie Hall, written by Harold Schonberg and publishec oCT 20TH 1960. Very interesting read. Long program by today's standards!.
SOrry about the poor montage. I fragmented the pdf too quickly.

Another tidbit from around the thrid chapter. As most may know Richter was basically self taught(before Neuhaus).

The first two pieces he learned were the Chopin Nocturne Op. 9, No.1 followed by the Chopin Etude in e minor Op. 25!

Thanks for this. I'm addicted to Schonberg's writing.

(and Richter's playing of course)

You are welcome Mr. Roberts !

PLUS, at what age did he learn those "first" pieces (did he skip Anna Magdalena?????)

The bio doesn't mention but it says, I think, that he started playing the piano at seven. He was more interested in playing through things likes reductions of operas and symphonies in the beginning, so I don't know when he learned his first normal repertoire piece. The book says he used the piano the way someone might use Youtube today if they wanted to hear what something sounded like.

That's astonishing. When Cliburn came back from his Russian triumph, Sol Hurok had him charging $3000. Rubinstein heard about this, and raised his price to $3000. But (for the sake of you young'uns) if these amounts seem small, consider that my entire college education, room board and tuition at a private college (1961-65) cost under $9000. Now, I think they're charging $30 or $40k/yr just for tuition. So the use of consumer cost-of-living index to get an estimate of what current value is, is only approximate.

The cost of living index is probably even worse than approximate. Most of the good things in life - opera tickets, baseball tickets, ski lift tickets, college educations - follow the disposable income numbers, rather than cost of living. Disposable income is, in theory, the difference between income and cost of living.

Spoken like a good New Yorker, Don..
I just payed a thrice inflated price for a bottle of Montepulciano, in pursuit of the "good things in life", disposable income non-withstanding.. Banking on good health and many more years before retirement, and other such vagaries..

More from the bio about Richtr and Prokofiev. Richter premiered the 6th Sonata which Prokofiev claimed was too difficult for himself to play. Richter's favorite Sonata was the 8th and the 9th Sonata was dedicated to him.

Richter also did one of the first early performances of the 5th piano concerto. After a surprisingly and highly positive reception by the audience, Prokofiev told Richter "They're only applauding so much because they want to hear you play a Chopin Nocturne for an encore."