Richter's personal Journals constitute an unparalleled witness to the music of our time. These are the private thoughts of a nonconformist, one of the greatest performers of the century, yet one whose life was bound inextricably to the history of the USSR. In addition, in conversation with Bruno Monsaingeon, Richter recounts what it was like to be an "artist of the people", his meetings with such Russian stars as Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich.
