Editing Sviatoslav Richter (section)

===Touring and recording===
[[File:Hammond Slides Musicians 05.jpg|thumb|253x253px|Richter performing in 1964]]
In 1948, Richter and Dorliak gave recitals in [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]], then in 1950 performed in [[Prague]] and [[Bratislava]], [[Czechoslovakia]]. In 1954, Richter gave recitals in [[Budapest]], [[Hungary]]. In 1956, he again toured Czechoslovakia, then in 1957, he toured [[China]], then again performed in Prague, [[Sofia]], and Warsaw. In 1958, Richter recorded [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 5 (Prokofiev)|5th Piano Concerto]] with the [[Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra]] under the baton of [[Witold Rowicki]] – the recording which made Richter known in the United States. In 1959, Richter made another successful recording of [[Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)|2nd Piano Concerto]] with the Warsaw Philharmonic on [[Deutsche Grammophon]] label. Thus the West first became aware of Richter through recordings made in the 1950s. One of Richter's first advocates in the West was [[Emil Gilels]], who stated during his first tour of the United States that the critics (who were giving Gilels rave reviews) should "wait until you hear Richter."<ref name=reputation>{{cite news | author=Michael Kimmelman | title=The Reputation Is Legendary, The Playing Unpredictable | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807EEDB1F3FF931A15755C0A961958260 | work=The New York Times | date=June 22, 1997 | access-date=August 28, 2007}}</ref>

Richter's first concerts in the West took place in May 1960, when he was allowed to play in Finland, and on October 15, 1960, in Chicago, where he played [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]]'s [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms)|2nd Piano Concerto]] with the [[Chicago Symphony Orchestra]] and [[Erich Leinsdorf]], creating a sensation. In a review, ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' music critic [[Claudia Cassidy]], who was known for her unkind reviews of established artists, recalled Richter first walking on stage hesitantly, looking vulnerable (as if about to be "devoured"), but then sitting at the piano and dispatching "the performance of a lifetime".<ref>Claudia Cassidy, Chicago Tribune, 1960.</ref> Richter's 1960 tour of the United States culminated in a series of concerts at [[Carnegie Hall]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408220230/http://www.trovar.com/str/dates/a1960.html|title=Sviatoslav Richter Chronology |website=Web.archive.org|date=April 8, 2009}}</ref>

Richter disliked performing in the United States.<ref>"America is standardized. It's all the same. I don't like it" says Richer in Monsaingeon's documentary "Richter, The Enigma", op.cit.</ref> Following a 1970 incident at [[Carnegie Hall]] in New York City, when Richter's performance alongside [[David Oistrakh]] was disrupted by anti-Soviet protests, Richter vowed never to return.<ref name=reputation/> Rumours of a planned return to Carnegie Hall surfaced in the last years of Richter's life, although it is not clear whether there was any truth behind them.<ref>Kevin Bazzana – Sviatoslav Richter (1915–1997), Notes to Richter in Leipzig, Music & Arts CD 1025</ref>

In 1961, Richter played for the first time in London. His first recital, pairing works of [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]] and [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]], was received with hostility by British critics. [[Neville Cardus]] concluded that Richter's playing was "provincial", and wondered why Richter had been invited to play in London, given that London had plenty of "second class" pianists of its own. Following a July&nbsp;18, 1961, concert, where Richter performed both of [[Franz Liszt|Liszt]]'s piano concertos, the critics reversed course.<ref>David Fanning, Notes to Sviatoslav Richter performs Chopin and Liszt, BBC Legends CD 2000.</ref>

In 1963, after searching in the Loire Valley, France, for a venue suitable for a music festival, Richter discovered La Grange de Meslay, several kilometres north of Tours. The festival was established by Richter and became an annual event.

In 1970, Richter visited Japan for the first time, travelling across Siberia by railway and ship as he disliked flying. He played Beethoven, Schumann, Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, Bartók and Rachmaninoff, as well as works by Mozart and Beethoven with Japanese orchestras. He visited Japan eight times.