Updated exposition in the Memorial apartment of S.T. Richter

The updated exposition of the Svyatoslav Richter Memorial Apartment will open to visitors on July 6, 2022. The update, first of all, will affect paintings and drawings, documents and a number of memorial items stored in the funds of the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin and inaccessible to visitors. Significant items that are not subject to rotation will be kept in the exposition, and new exhibits will expand its scope and supplement the biography of an outstanding musician with new names and facts. Tickets can be purchased online or at the museum box office.

The richness and diversity of the art collection of S. T. Richter, bequeathed to the museum, made it possible to significantly update the exposition, and the habit of the owner of the house to change the environment around him, creating a feeling of constant movement, suggested the idea to the curators. In the Memorial Apartment you can see paintings by artists of the older generation, prominent representatives of the culture of the Silver Age and the early Russian avant-garde, with whom Richter had many years of friendship - Robert Falk, Vasily Shukhaev, Elena Akhvlediani. The dining room is completely devoted to the works of nonconformist artists from the collection of pianist Dmitry Krasnopevtsev and Anatoly Zverev. The composition of pastels created by Svyatoslav Teofilovich himself, as well as the theme and content of the shop windows, will be completely updated.

For the first time, a family icon, the old prayer book of grandfather Svyatoslav Richter, Pablo Picasso’s drawing “The Horseman and the Bull”, presented by the artist in Mougins (1964), and his ceramic plate from the workshop in Madura, as well as rare photographs from the archive, will be presented for the first time. Records and sheet music autographed by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pierce will occupy a separate showcase. In the hall for the first time will be presented a rare poster of the first production of Britten’s opera "The Turn of the Screw" at the "December Evenings" in the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin in 1984. In Richter’s study, visitors will see the notes of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues with a dedication inscription to the composer’s mother Sofya Vasilievna (May 1950), the Golden Disc of the Melodiya firm, which immortalized the legendary interpretation of the piano concerto by P. I. Tchaikovsky, and rare documents.

At the same time, iconic furnishings that are not subject to rotation will be preserved. Among them are two pianos by Steinway & Sons, Florentine floor lamps of the 16th century, French tapestry, Japanese ceramics, vases by Emile Galle, "Benjamin Britten’s damask", Rezo Gabriadze’s marionette dolls, portraits of the young Richter by Anna Troyanovskaya and Robert Falk, a portrait of Nina Dorliak by Georgian artist Keto Magalashvili, one of the best early works by Pyotr Konchalovsky "Portrait of the Verigins", a gift from Elena Sergeevna Bulgakova - a small landscape by Martiros Saryan and another rare gift from admirers of the pianist’s talent - a Spanish wooden sculpture of the infant John the Baptist, created in the 18th century.

All exhibit items have not only historical or artistic value, they are associated with the life and work of the great pianist. The scale of the figure of Svyatoslav Richter goes far beyond the concept of a virtuoso pianist. Richter’s personality, a wide range of interests and the highest performing skills put him on a par with the artists of the Renaissance. Richter is a unique phenomenon in the culture of the 20th century. In addition to a passionate love for music, a phenomenal repertoire in terms of the number of works and countless concerts, Richter was very fond of the theater and was fond of it since childhood. He was engaged in painting, tried himself in the epistolary genre and directing, was friends with artists, poets, actors and, of course, with musicians - composers and performers. During his lifetime, the apartment on Bolshaya Bronnaya was called "the highest cultural point of the capital." On the top floor of the famous sixteen-story brick “tower”, Richter arranged exhibitions, home concerts, film screenings, staged performances, held literary readings and listening to rare musical recordings, accompanying them with his own comments. The owner acted as a director and organizer of "special" masquerades and balls with a carefully prepared cultural program.

Thanks to the re-exposition of the Svyatoslav Richter Memorial Apartment, the regular audience attending excursions, lectures and concerts on Bolshaya Bronnaya will have the opportunity to see unknown exhibits from the collection of the great musician and learn a lot about him and his life.