Rating: 
Summary: A gift from a legend.
Review: This is a fascinating and insightful look into the thoughts and history of one of the undisputed greats of interpretive art. Richter is considered by many to be the greatest classical pianist of the twentieth century, and so it is to our great fortune that he entrusted his memories and musical insights to Bruno Monsaingeon for posterity at the end of his life. The first half of the book consists of his life story, a mixture of fascinating encounters with genius and dark personal turmoil, recollected with a vividness of memory which he considered to be a curse of sorts. The second half consists of quick notes and impressions on recitals (his own and others'), opera productions and concerts, and recordings, and he is unabashed in his praise and/or criticism. There are many familiar names in this section (I'll let him surprise you by not mentioning them) and it is fascinating to get his take on these performers.What I found surprising about this book was its engaging, humorous tone. After seeing the wonderful documentary, "Richter, the Enigma," I was expecting something perhaps more morose, but Richter had such an odd, nonchalant wit about him that this book was a great pleasure to read, and not at all the downer I was prepared for. All in all, a fantastic book in itself and a must-have companion piece for the documentary.
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