New book on pianist Sviatoslav Richter

[Lance]

My copy just arrived today. Anything about Richter — books or CDs — is always welcome! Thumbing through, it looks like an interesting read. Many photographs as well. Much information about Richter's "marriage" to soprano Nina Dorliak as well as the "other side" of Richter's personal life.

The author, Karl Aage Rasmussen, is a Danish composer and writer. He recently retired as professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus.

[MarkC]

Thanks for posting about it!
I might have to get it.

[Lance]

Do Amazon-dot-com ... post free! About 34% off as well.

Thanks for posting about it!
I might have to get it.

[Holden Fourth]

I worry about books like this. Richter was an extremely private person and to my knowledge the only biographer he ever spoke to was Bruno Monsaingeon. Surely, this book is all about hearsay, which might have its place in a well authorised biography but surely not in one where the author never met or talked to the subject.

[MarkC]

......Surely, this book is all about hearsay......

Good point, but IMO it's not the degree of problem that you say.

"Hearsay" is that much of a problem only in court. In 'real life,' we rely on it all the time -- and that includes in most biographies. And arguably it's extra important (if not critical) about someone who was so private, because it might be the main way we can try to get to know about someone. The question is how it's used. Does the writer do it well? Does he/she take good account of the sources, and put it together well?

What you said actually makes me even more interested to get the book. I didn't know that RIchter was quite so 'private,' and this makes me curious to see what kind of job the writer did on this.

[Chalkperson]

My copy arrived this morning, in fact i'm going to buy the Richter in Hungary Box Set to accompany the book...

[Chalkperson]

I worry about books like this. Richter was an extremely private person and to my knowledge the only biographer he ever spoke to was Bruno Monsaingeon. Surely, this book is all about hearsay, which might have its place in a well authorised biography but surely not in one where the author never met or talked to the subject.

Me too, I thought it disgusting that some Insensitive Hack at Gramophone Outed him two weeks after his death, but, Richter is my all time Hero, so i'm going to read the book...

[Lance]

Reading so far, I'm impressed with the work the author did in his research, etc. The author [Rasmussen] is now a retired professor but would seem to me to have the intent and purpose to represent Sviatoslav Richter as carefully and truthfully as possible. Writing about someone who died in 1997 may have more "validity" than writing about a composer who lived 200 years ago as is often the case in musical biographies. What is revealed is that, at the end of his life, Richter seemed to be broke. He never cared much about money and his "wife" watched over his finances, schedules, concerts and artistic activities, etc. The man should have been a millionaire given all the live recitals he gave not to mention record royalties. Richter's only two blood relatives live in the USA today. It looks like Nina Dorliak's nephew (the son of her brother who died prematurely) who is an alcoholic actor and is the recipient of all royalties and benefits. Richter did not like the unnamed "X" mentioned in the book who now receives all these benefits from Richter's estate that did not go to the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Richter did not desire to leave a will. He couldn't have cared less about money and there may have been some good reasons for not leaving a will. Read the book. You will find it entirely fascinating and deeply engrossing. Many questions you have about the man and artist will finally have some answers through the integrity of Rasmussen. ♪

[Chalkperson]

Reading so far, I'm impressed with the work the author did in his research, etc. The author [Rasmussen] is now a retired professor but would seem to me to have the intent and purpose to represent Sviatoslav Richter as carefully and truthfully as possible. Writing about someone who died in 1997 may have more "validity" than writing about a composer who lived 200 years ago as is often the case in musical biographies. What is revealed is that, at the end of his life, Richter seemed to be broke. He never cared much about money and his "wife" watched over his finances, schedules, concerts and artistic activities, etc. The man should have been a millionaire given all the live recitals he gave not to mention record royalties. Richter's only two blood relatives live in the USA today. It looks like Nina Dorliak's nephew (the son of her brother who died prematurely) who is an alcoholic actor and is the recipient of all royalties and benefits. Richter did not like the unnamed "X" mentioned in the book who now receives all these benefits from Richter's estate that did not go to the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Richter did not desire to leave a will. He couldn't have cared less about money and there may have been some good reasons for not leaving a will. Read the book. You will find it entirely fascinating and deeply engrossing. Many questions you have about the man and artist will finally have some answers through the integrity of Rasmussen. ♪

Nobody with a Renoir on his Walls is Broke...

[Lance]

I know; it doesn't seem possible, but somebody has his money and it appears as though it was taken surreptitiously! Rostropovich offered to pay for a flight for Richter to come to the USA for cardiac care but by then, Richter was too far gone to make the trip. There's much more to this story than we will ever know. It could be, too, that the KGB (in the earlier years) took much of his money, but later on, he should have had numerous bank accounts established throughout Europe since he was free to travel without "agents" accompanying him.

Reading so far, I'm impressed with the work the author did in his research, etc. The author [Rasmussen] is now a retired professor but would seem to me to have the intent and purpose to represent Sviatoslav Richter as carefully and truthfully as possible. Writing about someone who died in 1997 may have more "validity" than writing about a composer who lived 200 years ago as is often the case in musical biographies. What is revealed is that, at the end of his life, Richter seemed to be broke. He never cared much about money and his "wife" watched over his finances, schedules, concerts and artistic activities, etc. The man should have been a millionaire given all the live recitals he gave not to mention record royalties. Richter's only two blood relatives live in the USA today. It looks like Nina Dorliak's nephew (the son of her brother who died prematurely) who is an alcoholic actor and is the recipient of all royalties and benefits. Richter did not like the unnamed "X" mentioned in the book who now receives all these benefits from Richter's estate that did not go to the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Richter did not desire to leave a will. He couldn't have cared less about money and there may have been some good reasons for not leaving a will. Read the book. You will find it entirely fascinating and deeply engrossing. Many questions you have about the man and artist will finally have some answers through the integrity of Rasmussen. ♪

Nobody with a Renoir on his Walls is Broke...

[MarkC]

(Just in case anyone is puzzled and wants to google it, that's KGB.)

BTW.....there's some kind of company called "KGB" that's been running commercials on TV and radio. (I hear them a lot on N.Y. Yankee broadcasts.) I wonder if either the company or the stations have a clue about what 'else' those initials mean.

I can't take any company seriously that gives itself such a name. Sorry.

[Lance]

Isn't the guy who started the KGB Company, Inc. named Kevin Goodwin Blackwood? He just used his initials to create the company name, but I would not want that KGB connotation either. It would almost be like having the name of Hitler and having to live with it. There ARE some Hitlers around, too.

(Just in case anyone is puzzled and wants to google it, that's KGB.)

BTW.....there's some kind of company called "KGB" that's been running commercials on TV and radio. (I hear them a lot on N.Y. Yankee broadcasts.) I wonder if either the company or the stations have a clue about what 'else' those initials mean.

I can't take any company seriously that gives itself such a name. Sorry.

[MarkC]

......He just used his initials to create the company name, but I would not want that KGB connotation either.

Absolutely.
If my initials were A-S-S, I wouldn't use those for my company's name either.
IMO this is even worse -- truly.

It would almost be like having the name of Hitler and having to live with it. There ARE some Hitlers around, too......

Didn't know. We'd have to say that's a burden.
BTW......it took me a while to get used to "Hess" gasoline stations.

Back in the day, there was a great basketball player named Dolph Schayes (who happened to be Jewish but I don't think this story depends on that). His actual first name is Adolph, and I understand that in his childhood (he was born in 1928), he usually went by that full name. But before long, it usually became clipped to just "Dolph." I've always assumed it was mainly because of the other well-known Adolf.

[Chalkperson]

Back in the day, there was a great basketball player named Dolph Schayes (who happened to be Jewish but I don't think this story depends on that). His actual first name is Adolph, and I understand that in his childhood (he was born in 1928), he usually went by that full name. But before long, it usually became clipped to just "Dolph." I've always assumed it was mainly because of the other well-known Adolf.

You mean he did not admire the Violin playing of Adolf Busch, or perhaps, the Beer of Adolphus Busch...

[John F]

Thanks for the preview of this book's contents, especially from Lance. I read musical biographies for what they may tell about the musician's artistic work and career, not for apparently irrelevant gossip about his/her private life. So I don't think this one is for me. But I'm glad to know about it.

[jbuck919]

Thanks for the preview of this book's contents, especially from Lance. I read musical biographies for what they may tell about the musician's artistic work and career, not for apparently irrelevant gossip about his/her private life.

Well goody for you!

I admit that I want to hear the dirt too. And as for Richter having been irrelevantly outed, Chalky, at the time, and perhaps still, any such thing can be highly and positively meaningful to many young people, while on the other hand it probably harmed nobody.

The local library system doesn't have this one in the pipeline, so I guess it's off to Amazon.

[lennygoran]

>It would almost be like having the name of Hitler and having to live with it. There ARE some Hitlers around, too.<

This brings to mind a court case that just made the news again in the county just south of our county involving the name Hitler:

N.J. parents who gave kids Nazi-inspired names face family court hearing
By The Associated Press
April 22, 2010,

"HOLLAND TWP. — A custody battle continued today for a New Jersey couple who gave their children Nazi-inspired names. Heath and Deborah Campbell's three small children were removed from their Hunterdon County home last year, not long after a supermarket refused to decorate a birthday for then-3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/0 ... le_wh.html

Regards, Len

[lennygoran]

>there was a great basketball player named Dolph Schayes<

I'll never forget his high arching set shot--amazing--of course I hated the Syracuse Nationals because they always winded up slaughtering my cherished NY Knicks! My favorite Carl Braun had a pretty good set shot too! Regards, Len

[Chalkperson]

Thanks for the preview of this book's contents, especially from Lance. I read musical biographies for what they may tell about the musician's artistic work and career, not for apparently irrelevant gossip about his/her private life. So I don't think this one is for me. But I'm glad to know about it.

I think you are wrong, it's a very comprehensive book about a Pianist you admire greatly, you should read it, gossipy is not how I would describe it...

[John F]

I think you are wrong, it's a very comprehensive book about a Pianist you admire greatly, you should read it, gossipy is not how I would describe it...

I already have two comprehensive books and a film about Richter, and nobody has yet said anything about the contents of this one to suggest that it adds anything about Richter's career and music-making. But I'll keep reading here in case anything turns up.

[Lance]

Initially, I thought the book was going to be on the boring side until I thumbed through it at different places to get an idea. The book is, after all, a translation into English and sometimes these translations leave much to be desired. I was wrong. It is very well written (and translated) and contains much information—both musical and personal—about one of the greatest pianists who ever lived. There is, of course, a huge cult following for Richter. I know several people who collect every recording he ever made and even in different "editions" or labels of the same piece and performance. These people go to great lengths (and monetary expenditures) to acquire Richter's recordings. I haven't gone off the deep end (too much) in this regard though I admit to having a huge number of recordings in Richter's incredible legacy. These days, the preponderance of recordings being issued are from live recitals and more are unearthed just about ever week, or so it seems. Sound quality, too, is variable. The new Richter book has some concerns about Richter's reputation and interest in hearing his recordings abating as the clock ticks time away more and more with each passing year. Still, Richter died in 1997 and here we are, thirteen years later and I don't see that the interest in the pianist has waned at all. In fact it seems stronger that ever at this moment with mega-disc sets still being issued. True, we don't hear much today about Toscanini, Gieseking, Rubinstein, Horowitz, and myriad others especially among the younger set. [When I mentioned Artur Rubinstein to a young piano student at the university the other day, Rubinstein's name was completely unknown to this young piano scholar though that of Marc-André Hamelin was instantly recognized.] The younger set seems intent on knowing the artists of their own generation, which is quite natural. Me? I continue to live with the music of the great artists of the past though I am pretty much up on many of the new ones as well. They just seem to be fewer and farther between.

[Chalkperson]

I haven't gone off the deep end (too much) in this regard though I admit to having a huge number of recordings in Richter's incredible legacy.

I have close to 300, I believe you have over 500, i'm not sure if either of us can possibly suggest we are swimming in the shallow end...

And...I just purchased the 10CD set of Richter in Hungary for $85.00 get it at this price whilst stocks last...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/ ... dition=new

[MarkC]

.....Dolph Schayes.....
I'll never forget his high arching set shot--amazing--of course I hated the Syracuse Nationals because they always winded up slaughtering my cherished NY Knicks! My favorite Carl Braun had a pretty good set shot too! Regards, Len

(.....and looks like maybe Chalkie knew of him too.)

I had no such conflict. Because of Schayes, the Nats were my team (even though I was in NY City). I just loved his game. And for a while that carried over to the Philadelphia 76'ers when the Syracuse team moved there.

Speaking of biographies.......I never knew if there was one of Schayes. I'll have to go check.......

[Chalkperson]

Richter and Neuhaus are discussing Horowitz, "He plays like a whore" says Richter, "(that's) better than a washerwoman" says Neuhaus...

[lennygoran]

>Because of Schayes, the Nats were my team<

I remember one Paul Seymour--a real roughian who constantly got into fights with my poor hapless NY Knicks! What really got to me in those days was watching the Knicks build up an early 20 point lead but by the end of the game they had usually blown it! Regards, Len

[Lance]

Well, it's just one comment probably amongst pianists and teachers who were jealous and envious of what Horowitz could do as a pianist. I have recordings of the great teachers Neuhaus and Goldenweiser. I believe they were better teachers than they were professional on-stage pianist. It seems to me, too, that I have read complimentary comments by Richter regarding Vladimir Horowitz's pianism. I'll try to find them and bring them to the table here for others to enjoy, too. I know you will cherish them!

Richter and Neuhaus are discussing Horowitz, "He plays like a whore" says Richter, "(that's) better than a washerwoman" says Neuhaus...

[Chalkperson]

Neuhaus's Chopin is very special, otherwise I do agree about them being better Teachers than Pianists...

I am, at this very moment, listening to Denis Matsuev's "Tribute to Horowitz" album, he sure plays these tunes better than The Big H...

Well, it's just one comment probably amongst pianists and teachers who were jealous and envious of what Horowitz could do as a pianist. I have recordings of the great teachers Neuhaus and Goldenweiser. I believe they were better teachers than they were professional on-stage pianist. It seems to me, too, that I have read complimentary comments by Richter regarding Vladimir Horowitz's pianism. I'll try to find them and bring them to the table here for others to enjoy, too. I know you will cherish them!

Richter and Neuhaus are discussing Horowitz, "He plays like a whore" says Richter, "(that's) better than a washerwoman" says Neuhaus...

[Lance]

Hmm, well if you look at the music score and follow along with either Neuhaus or Goldenweiser, there seems to be more of a "pedantic" quality in their recordings that is not evident in their celebrated students' offerings ... music that is performed well, of course, but without the individual imprint of other true concert performers that have given them their individual distinction as artists, who have also captured the hearts of so many music lovers and other celebrated pianists. Goldenweiser, Neuhaus (and Leonid Nikolayev, Vladimir Sofronitsky's celebrated teacher) were known for their teaching abilities much like Theodor Leschetizky was responsible for teaching so many outstanding pianists we know of today (perhaps more than any other teacher in the world). There are not a lot of "reports" or reviews that are available as Leschetizky the concert pianist, though there are a number of piano roll recordings made prior to his death 1915 that do not really give us a proper musical picture of the man's own pianistic genius. Nor are there myriad reviews of Neuhaus or Goldenweiser as performing artists, at least not outside Russian territories. The discographies of both Neuhaus and Goldenweiser are not nearly as in depth as their students (Richter and Gilels in particular). While each artist conveys his own intimate and personal expression in playing a piece of music (live or on recordings), those that have succeeded in attaining international fame rise far and above their teachers ... that is, any that left recordings for us to make musical comparisons. ♪

Neuhaus's Chopin is very special, otherwise I do agree about them being better Teachers than Pianists...

I am, at this very moment, listening to Denis Matsuev's "Tribute to Horowitz" album, he sure plays these tunes better than The Big H...

Well, it's just one comment probably amongst pianists and teachers who were jealous and envious of what Horowitz could do as a pianist. I have recordings of the great teachers Neuhaus and Goldenweiser. I believe they were better teachers than they were professional on-stage pianist. It seems to me, too, that I have read complimentary comments by Richter regarding Vladimir Horowitz's pianism. I'll try to find them and bring them to the table here for others to enjoy, too. I know you will cherish them!

Richter and Neuhaus are discussing Horowitz, "He plays like a whore" says Richter, "(that's) better than a washerwoman" says Neuhaus...

[Chalkperson]

Hmm, well if you look at the music score and follow along with either Neuhaus or Goldenweiser, there seems to be more of a "pedantic" quality in their recordings that is not evident in their celebrated students' offerings...

I can't read music...

[MarkC]

......I remember one Paul Seymour--a real roughian......

......who was rewarded by being made coach!!!

BTW....even further off the subj, but.......I have the 1957 Topps cards of the whole starting lineup of that team:

Seymour
Costello (not Lou)
Kerr
Schayes
Conlin

I got them so I could make a homemade Christmas card with those images for Ed Conlin, whom I had just met at a party in Jersey. (I included an "original" of his own card.)

[MarkC]

Well, it's just one comment......

......and sorry that the basketball stuff has been more than one comment.
We'll make sure not to expand it into a full-fledged hijack.

[lennygoran]

>who was rewarded by being made coach!!!<

This made me think of another Knick nemisis who also seemed to always be getting into fights--he too become a coach--Bill Sharman. Between the Nationals and the Celtics my poor Knicks didn't stand a chance in the days I followed basketball.

Regards, Len

[stenka razin]

>Because of Schayes, the Nats were my team<

I remember one Paul Seymour--a real roughian who constantly got into fights with my poor hapless NY Knicks! What really got to me in those days was watching the Knicks build up an early 20 point lead but by the end of the game they had usually blown it! Regards, Len

More memory lane material, mate. Thanks. I was big Knicks fan, but, Dolph was in a class of his own and so was Carl Braun and his set shots. Remember the Rochester Royals?..They had a dynamic back court of Bobby Wanzer and Bobby Davies....Those were the days!

[lennygoran]

>Bobby Wanzer and Bobby Davies<

Definitely! When I first got into NBA basketball watching the big name was the center George Mikan--the Minneapolis Lakers seemed to win every year--then along came even bigger giants like Chamberlain!

Regards, Len

[MarkC]

Cool that y'all know about those guys!

BTW......to me, Mikan and Chamberlain were separated by a veritable generation, because when I started following the game, Mikan was gone and Wilt hadn't yet come in.

What a difference a few little years can make......

[lennygoran]

>Mikan was gone and Wilt hadn't yet come in<

Yeah, what players they were--and who did the Knicks have-Ray Felix--hopeless--6-11 but he just couldn't grab a rebound.

Regards, Len

[MarkC]

.....and don't forget Walter Dukes!
And, so as not to be seeming to make race a factor here, we better mention Chuck Share and Henry Finkel too.

I remember when Finkel 'replaced' Bill Russell..........after a few games, the coach (Tom Heinsohn) explained (diplomatically) that Finkel "just isn't that type of player."

[lennygoran]

>and don't forget Walter Dukes!<

Don't worry, I won't forget him either--almost as bad as Felix!

>Tom Heinsohn<

Another nightmare for us Knick fans--he just demolished Kenny Sears--Sears had a good shot and I tried to like him but he just couldn't handle the boards--as if Heinsohn wasn't enough muscle there was Loscutoff . No wonder I gave up watching basketball. Regards, Len

[MarkC]

.....Loscutoff.....

.......was later reincarnated as Bill Laimbeer.

Actually I take it back........there was and can ever be only one Jim Loscutoff.

P.S. Good job on the spelling.

[lennygoran]

>P.S. Good job on the spelling<

Definitely had help from Wiki! Regards, Len

[MarkC]

Definitely had help from Wiki!

Still counts.

(And I don't mean MEL Counts, who I should have mentioned in that other post.)

[Chalkperson]

OK...i'm reclaiming his Thread, if you want to discuss Basketball I have started a Horowitz Thread, hijack that one instead of Slava's...

[MarkC]

OK.........book on Richter. [smiley suppressed]

[Chalkperson]

Having read about 2/3 of this book I can tell you that the word Homosexual is found a number of times, but no comments have been made about it, the only "gossip" about it is when the writer reveals that Richter had another man stay with him on one occasion whilst on tour... I doubt there is anything more "juicy" in the rest of the book either...

The other interesting piece of information is about Richter's Annual Festival in Tours...all the world's greatest musicians played there, except one, you guessed it, Horowitz, he rejected the invitation and sent Byron Janis in his place...

[Chalkperson]

OK.........book on Richter. [smiley suppressed]

The book constantly refers to him as Slava, normally he preferred to be called Maestro...however, it gets confusing when Slava and Slava perform Prokofiev's Cello Sonata together...

[MarkC]

See how dead this gets when you stifle our tangents? [sm. suppr.]

[Chalkperson]

See how dead this gets when you stifle our tangents? [sm. suppr.]

It died because most Richter fans don't like reading about Basketball...

Of course if you had your PM button on then I could have asked you privately to quit a while ago, it's most infuriating that you still insist on having it turned off...it's for cases like this that it's needed...chalklyss

[Neytiri]

chalklyss

[MarkC]

........chalklyss

To paraphrase Yogi Berra, "If you can't imitate her, don't copy her." [smiley suppressed]

P.S. Of course this opens the door for other Yogi Berra quotes...... [another sm. suppr.]

[Chalkperson]

........chalklyss

To paraphrase Yogi Berra, "If you can't imitate her, don't copy her." [smiley suppressed]

P.S. Of course this opens the door for other Yogi Berra quotes...... [another sm. suppr.]

I've been well trained to mind the store, that's exactly what she would have written, please, take your Yogi Berra "jokes" to your own Sports Thread...