Sviatoslav Richter’s great love as a young man was opera, and his remarkable sight reading skills permitted him to play operatic scores he had never seen before. He was thus able to secure a job at the Odessa Opera as a vocal coach. But by 1937, his hopes of becoming a conductor had been dashed for political reasons.
On the suggestion of a friend, he left for Moscow to see if Heinrich Neuhaus, the teacher of Emil Gilels and several other famed pianists, would accept him as a student. Neuhaus reluctantly agreed to hear him, though the young man had no formal training and at 22 a career as a pianist seemed out of the question.
Nevertheless, what Neuhaus heard astonished him and he took Richter on as a pupil at the Moscow Conservatory.
The rest is history, and ultimately millions of people enjoyed his playing during his lifetime.
Listen now to Sviatoslav Richter as he performs three sonatas by Mozart including the KV 282, and the KV 545.
