Posted by sdb on April 17, 2008, at 17:55:29
In reply to Gould and Richter » sdb, posted by Sigismund on April 15, 2008, at 18:48:30
> Did Glen Gould end up taking lots of Valium and worrying about his health?
>as far as I know he took quite a lot of drugs. Maybe to find out if something works for his (mental) health.
> He died young.
They said he had a brain stroke. Like his mother.
No other macroscopic pathologies were observable that could have caused any other problems according to pathologists.
>
> He seems perfectly charming to me.
>oh yes, his recording technicians said that he was just a very nice person.
> What about Richter?
>
> I remember you saying once that he looked unhappy.there is very little known about Richter. He seemed to be a quite introverted person. Clearly, it was not easy to live in Russia (and it isn't easy to be a very gifted "genius" person). He is said to have had another sexual orientation which was forbidden in Russia. As far as I know, Richter never said himself something about another orientation. He neglected to be a genius saying to be normal. Inversely, Richter said to have liked being a genius. Richter said to very dislike school and to remember only one number (house number).
Richter was forced by Nikita Chruschtschow (First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, his son is now professor in the US) to play in the US what he very disliked. He said that he had a depression and a panic (after a "controlling person" said that his job is to play) near the Chicago museum. According to Richter the US was boring, except the museums, the bars with good drinks and the orchestras. I can understand his statement to some extend since Europe or Russia look like an antic outdoor museum for some people living on other continents. Furthermore Richter was actively forced to play.
Richter frequently traveled through Europe, where France was a preferred lieu to stay.
Richter played e.g. in Japan. He was said to have "flight anxiety". Richter stated that he only would have traveled to Japan under narcotics for a last time.
the film enigma is the only big interview. At the end of the film he says: "I don't like myself"
ST. Richter, enigma Part. 2
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6317314286098314769
>the live wasn't always easy here...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JlyaRjqV0M8
...at the beginning of the enigma film he said that power, politics and planning were things that he disliked.
> What do you think of him?
I didn't know him personally. It is evident that he was probably the most complete pianist (during the time it was possible to make recordings).
> My favourite version of the Bach Well Tempered Clavier is by Richter.
this is indeed very, very beautiful.
I always thought that Schubert is boring until I heard Richter.
other stuff
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20080303/msgs/818143.html
poster:sdb
thread:817793
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20080329/msgs/823863.html