Throughout a life dedicated to music, Sviatoslav Richter maintained a stubborn silence about his own ideals and aspirations. In this book he opens up his heart, both in an exceptional interview with Bruno Monsaingeon (renowned for his documentary films), and in his own private music journals, which he kept for nearly 30 years. Richter recounts what it was like to be an artist of the people , his meetings with Russian performers and composers - Oistrakh, Rostropovich, Gilels, Prokoviev, Shostakovich - and his rise to international acclaim. The pianist's personal journals constitute an unparalleled witness to the music of our time. He notes with precision, humour and clarity, his reactions to concerts, operas, fellow musicians, even his own recordings. These are the private thoughts of a nonconformist, one of the greatest performers of the century, and one whose life was bound inextricably to the history of the USSR.