"I won a competition with Richter..."
Recalling how effortlessly he accompanied his wife Galina Vishnevskaya in Rachmaninov songs - recently reissued by DG - I ask him the width of his hand- spread on the piano.
from "A salute to Slava - With more than 240 world premieres to his name, Mstislav Rostropovich is one of music's titans. As he turns 80, he shares his memories with Tully Potter". Gramophone April 2007
Recalling how effortlessly he accompanied his wife Galina Vishnevskaya in Rachmaninov songs - recently reissued by DG - I ask him the width of his hand- spread on the piano.
"I won a competition with Richter," he says proudly, leaping over to the Bosendorfer grand and demonstrating a left-hand chord. "You know how big Richter's hands were, but Richter could only play it on the black notes - I can play it on the white notes."
The walls of the living room where we talk are covered with impressive oil portraits, including an unfinished one by Serov of the last Tsar, Nicholas II.
"All Russians," says the Maestro with an expansive gesture, indicating that he is in a home from home. As I produce my notebook, explaining that I am an old- fashioned journalist, he counters with: "And I am an old-fashioned musician."