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The Rest Room
Richter reached the highest stage in the
search for musical truth, yet he was
always ready, like a child, to be sur.
prised by something unexpected that
he had discovered in Music, Nature,
and Life...
Riccardo Muti
Sviatoslav Richter used to call this the rest room.
On days when he gave concerts at home it was
turned into a dressing room.
Here you cannot help noticing the portrait of the
pianist’s father, Teofil Danilovich, as a young man.
The following extract is from Richter’s «Auto.
biographical Confessions» about his father in
Ya.I.Milstein‘s book. «From a family of German
colonists... A man of many talents. Studied in Vienna.
Played the piano well, particularly romantic pieces
by Schumann and Chopin. Gave concerts as a
pianist in his youth. But was terrified of the stage so
never became a concert pianist. He played the
organ splendidly and often improvised on it. Many
people heard his improvisations, at the Kirche in
Odessa, where he played regularly, and in the
Opera Theatre, where he was the organist.»
Teofil Danilovich and Anna Pavlovna (Richter’s
mother) did not manage to leave Odessa in 1941
when German troops were approaching the town.
Teofil Danilovich was arrested and shot on the night
of 6th October in the Odessa prison as a «German
spy». Anna Pavlovna fled to Romania and then to
Germany, leaving Russia forever and her only son.
They did not meet again until twenty years later.
Sviatoslav Richter carried this pain in his heart all
his life. On the anniversary of his father’s death he
used to play recordings of Teofil Danilovich’s
favourite works and listen to them in silence.
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