Richter, The Enigma

By ELLIOT RAVETZ

One of the greatest pianists of the century, a performer whose interpretive acuity and huge repertoire awed other musicians, Sviatoslav Richter, the subject of this engrossing video documentary, was also a fiercely private man indifferent to commercial success. Averse to concertizing in big cities, he instead drove the expanses of Russia, showering his genius on towns and villages. Bruno Monsaingeon, who has made several films about musicians, got the wary pianist to open up. Blending Richter's observations with marvelous archival footage spanning much of his life, Monsaingeon's documentary so generously displays the pianist's gifts and so vividly limns his odd, isolated life that it is both exhilarating and haunting.

--By Elliot Ravetz