By Mogens Wenzel Andreasen. Translated by Thomas E. Kennedy.

The Russian pianist Svjatoslav Richter (1915-1997) was among the greatest pianists of the 20th century. The Danish composer, professor and author, Karl Aage Rasmussen - who previously published a volume about another outstanding pianist, the Canadian Glenn Gould - has now written a book about Richter. The result is most noteworthy. It is self-evident that Rasmussen’s knowledge of all aspects of music is second to none but on top of that, the colossal research that was required here is also impressive.

We follow the story of Richter’s life from birth to death, with exciting insights into the history of his family: his “mixed” nationality (his father was German by birth), his father’s tragic fate (he was executed by the Soviet authorities during the Second World War for no other reason than he was part German), Richter’s mother’s apparent betrayal when she left her husband and married his cousin, Richter’s late recognition of his musical vocation (he started his piano training surprisingly late, and it was both brief and lacked concentration), his fame in the Soviet Union and then internationally, and the Soviet authorities’ hesitation to trust him because he was not pure Russian.

Richter’s homosexuality - which he considered of no concern to the public and kept to himself - is also described, although sensitively and discretely. The book does not aim for sensation; rather, the author focuses on that which is most essential – Richter’s career as a pianist and his artistic character – and he only makes use of biographical detail to the extent necessary for an understanding of these characteristics and of the musician’s relationship to his artistic vocation.

Thus Rasmussen dissects Richter’s attitude to the great number of compositions he presented for large audiences in the Soviet Union, Europe, the USA and Asia - a repertoire that stretched from Bach and Händel to Gershwin and Alban Berg - and he vividly describes how Richter focused his thoughts on the most profound aspects of music virtually around the clock, and how he constantly pondered the musical compositions, seeking to perform them as personally and precisely as possible, while at the same time diligently maintaining his surprisingly virtuoso technique. Richter’s little-known relationship with the singer Nina Dorliak is described fully and discretely. Their relationship began on a purely professional basis with him accompanying her, but grew to something resembling marriage – because both were apparently homosexual. Thus their companionship never became a formal legal marriage, although it appeared as such to the world. They lived together in two neighboring apartments in Moscow where they had the wall between removed and each furnished his own side as he or she wished.

The book is so well-written, exciting, and captivating, it can almost be read as a novel; it is also thoroughly well-documented and characterized by the author’s enormous professional knowledge. It is impressive that a Danish writer with no particular knowledge of the Russian language has been able to include so many essential details; one would be hard-pressed to imagine anything lacking on this account.

Here is a distinguished book - honest and very respectful - whose open-heartedness never violates the boundaries of what is appropriate. Richter emerges as a living and vibrant person, as a many-facetted personality – physically strong, apolitical, without interest in money - but also eccentric, even hysterical with his marked fear of flying (despite his physical courage in other respects). He is shown as self-disciplined, very critical of his own performances, possessing a strong sense of friendship mixed with impatience at everything he judged to be obtrusive or unnecessarily inquisitive. All of this is captured in a book that will draw the attention of both those with a deep interest in music and those without.

Richter was an international artistic figure. This thoroughly researched, well-told and detailed biography will doubtlessly come to stand far into the future as the book about a man who excelled both as an artist and as a human being.

The book includes a useful chart of Richter’s most important recordings, a bibliography and a complete list of relevant names.

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