Pianist Sviatoslav Richter was born in 1915, and he died in 1997.
The special character of Mr. Richter was summed up in the title of Bruno Monsaingeon’s documentary film on the pianist, “The Enigma”.
Reserved, yet unflinching in his pursuit of musical excellence, and in later years capable of imposing idiosyncratic conditions for his eagerly anticipated performances, he was already a legend behind the Iron Curtain by the time he made his belated first appearances in the West.
He demonstrated an amazing technique and was devoted to utter fidelity to the music that he performed.
Here is Mr. Richter performing the music of Franz Schubert:
