Emil Gilels

[aquablob]

That I know nothing.  0:)

[DavidRoss]

There is a chance I may reach 7-8 sets of Beethoven Piano Sonatas.  I am not sure if there are more than this number of sets worth collecting.  I already have the sets by Kempff and Gilels while the set by Gulda is on its way.  Add in the Annie Fischer's set, I will have 4 sets.  Are there other sets that are worth collecting?

You could always check out the great recordings thread on LvB Sonata Cycles.  I'd say you're off to a good start with Kempff & Gilels.  My other faves are Kovacevich & Goode.  There are many other fine cycles on record and you will find that preferences here vary as much as tastes, but if you wish to collect, then all of the usual suspects (Schnabel, Arrau, Brendel, Frank, Fischer, Buchbinder, et al) have merit.  Easy availability of digital downloads to sample various sets, coupled with numerous professional reviews and no dearth of opinions offered here and elsewhere, make it a bit easier to find sets suiting your interests.

[Renfield]

"lolsocrates"


(It was in fact his doctrine. If anything, Plato knew too much. )

[aquablob]

(It was in fact his doctrine. If anything, Plato knew too much. )

Yeah, Plato was a poser.

[George]

(It was in fact his doctrine. If anything, Plato knew too much. )

Indeed. The original smart ass.  

[DavidRoss]

Indeed. The original smart ass.  

But it was the warrior/sculptor whose smart-assery pissed off the hypocrites so much that they put him to death.

[Renfield]

Indeed. The original smart ass.  

Exactly my word of choice, but without implying an assessment of his claims' validity; more the attitude he always had, in making them.

/endofftopic


Edit: Socrates wasn't a smart-ass, he was as stubborn as an ass! He put himself to death, if anyone did.

[Holden]

I agree with you about the Russian Waldstien, but can you give me a link to the Aix Appassionata?. I have never heard of it.

Is that your top PC4? I like it very much, but I want to find the greatest PC4 ever.

Do you prefer Gilels' Grieg to Richter's. I only have the Richter, and I'm wondering whether to get the Gilels too (silly question really!)

Have you accidentally put #21 and #23 back to front?

Gilels played the Waldstein at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence 20/7/1966. a friend who knows how much I love the Waldstein, sent me a copy of the CD. It is on the Rodolphe label which doesn't exist any more and therefore it is oop. It also appeared on the Music&Arts label (M&A CD-759) who no longer have it listed. This is one of those legendary performances (like Richter in Leipzig) It is available here



The Gilels PC4 is my top performance alongside Moravec/Turnovsky.

I heard Richter Grieg and didn't feel like buying it as the Gilels is superior (and this from an addicted Richterphile).

[rubio]

Gilels played the Waldstein at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence 20/7/1966. a friend who knows how much I love the Waldstein, sent me a copy of the CD. It is on the Rodolphe label which doesn't exist any more and therefore it is oop. It also appeared on the Music&Arts label (M&A CD-759) who no longer have it listed. This is one of those legendary performances (like Richter in Leipzig) It is available here

It seems like one cheap M&A copy is available here, at least for the US residents...

http://www.amazon.com/Plays-Beethoven-Liszt/dp/B000006KFU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234045676&sr=1-2

[Novi]

My favourite Gilels performance is the live Schumann concerto with Bohm, available on Andante.

That sure is a different interpretation - I'm not quite certain what I think of it. I've always conceived it as a 'youthful' piece, but Gilels overturns that completely. His is slower and heavier, whereas I've always imagined the piece to be spontaneous and impetuous, particularly the third movement. But Gilels brings a greater depth and richness to it. Good to be jolted out of my preconceptions - keeps things fresh .

[rw1883]

Maybe I have not heard enough from him that's why my answer is no, but do you people think you could more or less tell a Gilels performance if you are not told who the pianist is? I mean, is there a discerning characteristic to his playing? something I've wondered for long.

If I may write a few thoughts...the characteristics I love and that stick in my mind: his ability to play with the utmost tenderness and the utmost power (the power seems to come from the deepest bowels of the piano); at the same time his power might be too much at times, a reason I'll always recognize his Jeux d'eau (I still love it!); his leggiero passages are done with the required lightness and delicacy, but not at the expense of tone and clarity (Chopin Ballade #1, 1965); his combination of power, speed, and fullness of tone (Scriabin Piano Sonata #3, 1984)...

Whether those are discerning I wouldn't be able to say unless put to the test.  I like what Holden said about his consistency (at least on the recordings I have), and I'd be really interested on more thoughts from val on hearing him live.

Thanks...

[Peregrine]

(Chopin Ballade #1, 1965)

One of my favourites, that...

thanks for your thoughts!

[orbital]

his leggiero passages are done with the required lightness and delicacy, but not at the expense of tone and clarity (Chopin Ballade #1, 1965)

One of my favourites, that...

thanks for your thoughts!

I am not sure if it is the same Ballade performance, but the one I have from him (runs in around 9-9.5 mins IIRC) it is too straightforward and unnecessarily hurried a little. It may have to do with the fact that most of my favorite op23 performances run way over 10 minutes (the ones I really love are generally over 10.5 in fact).

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Gilels really pulls out the stops in Schubert's D.850. Great, great music-making of a rare type. He makes this sonata sing!

His Liszt sonata is unusual in that it's rooted more in classicism, eschewing histrionics. I wouldn't have imagined anyone bringing the work off like this but Gilels makes a very compelling case. It's moody, introverted, and perhaps more "human" than I've ever heard it. Quite unlike Richter's swashbuckling romp.





Prokofiev's 8th sonata plus Visions Fugitives (selections). Gilels's Prokofiev is a mixture of cleverness, steeliness, and poetry, which brings out the best in the music.





Shostakovich's 2nd sonata. 'Nuff said.





Debussy with a literal bent (Images, set 1) but again Gilels convinces. His fingerwork is amazing. The Petrushka fragments need a push to get started but eventually find their way.

[ezodisy]

Maybe I have not heard enough from him that's why my answer is no, but do you people think you could more or less tell a Gilels performance if you are not told who the pianist is? I mean, is there a discerning characteristic to his playing? something I've wondered for long.

No I don't think I could tell him apart from most pianists. Remember all those listening (mystery) tests we used to do on here? I don't recall if we had any Gilels (probably not) but I do recall that you and Drasko often guessed who the pianists were (I was never very good at those tests). I think a more distinctive sound and style came into being towards the end of his career -- some of those weighty performances with that deep, rich sound are quite easy to tell apart. Overall though I'd say the answer is no as I can't think of a distinctive style or characteristic which would make you recognise him easily (not early on anyway). It's funny you should mention that because I think the 3 of us feel somewhat distanced from him.

That sure is a different interpretation - I'm not quite certain what I think of it. I've always conceived it as a 'youthful' piece, but Gilels overturns that completely. His is slower and heavier, whereas I've always imagined the piece to be spontaneous and impetuous, particularly the third movement. But Gilels brings a greater depth and richness to it. Good to be jolted out of my preconceptions - keeps things fresh .

I'm rather the opposite from you here as although I liked the concerto from the beginning, I didn't really think of it as a magnificent, lovable work until I heard Gilels' old-man interpretation of it. That was when it started to make sense to me -- I mean the feeling of love in the work. Before I never heard that but Gilels made it sound deep & beautiful & very personal.

I am not sure if it is the same Ballade performance, but the one I have from him (runs in around 9-9.5 mins IIRC) it is too straightforward and unnecessarily hurried a little. It may have to do with the fact that most of my favorite op23 performances run way over 10 minutes (the ones I really love are generally over 10.5 in fact).

ah yes, so we did have Gilels as a mystery pianist That's probably the one I uploaded, from a recital in Budapest in the '50s (I think) on M&A. That was one of my favourite performances of the piece -- straightforward but still powerful & poetic I thought. I liked it anyway

edit: that Ballade is from '63

18/12/1963 - Budapest - Live

DISCOCORP RR-559 (LP)
MUSIC & ARTS CD-747 (CD)

[orbital]

ah yes, so we did have Gilels as a mystery pianist That's probably the one I uploaded, from a recital in Budapest in the '50s (I think) on M&A. That was one of my favourite performances of the piece -- straightforward but still powerful & poetic I thought. I liked it anyway

edit: that Ballade is from '63

18/12/1963 - Budapest - Live

DISCOCORP RR-559 (LP)
MUSIC & ARTS CD-747 (CD)

Do you remember that other performance from your post? It was by a relatively unknown pianist (whose name escapes me, as usual  ) who had that interesting soft ending to the ballade? It is still one of my favorite versions.

[ezodisy]

yeah it was by Evgeny Zarafiants who recorded some Scriabin for Naxos and a bunch of discs released in Japan. All of his interpretations were quite unique yet I connected with only a few, that Ballade 1 being one of the better ones I thought. I like the Gekic performance much more though

[orbital]

yeah it was by Evgeny Zarafiants who recorded some Scriabin for Naxos and a bunch of discs released in Japan. All of his interpretations were quite unique yet I connected with only a few, that Ballade 1 being one of the better ones I thought. I like the Gekic performance much more though

Definitely. The Gekic performance is truly extraordinary, and that is a very rare thing one can say for op23. Who would have thought there would be still unheard voices in the piece?

[Peregrine]

I am not sure if it is the same Ballade performance, but the one I have from him (runs in around 9-9.5 mins IIRC) it is too straightforward and unnecessarily hurried a little. It may have to do with the fact that most of my favorite op23 performances run way over 10 minutes (the ones I really love are generally over 10.5 in fact).

8 minutes and 12 seconds!!!

Recorded 13th March 1965 at the Moscow Conservatory.

I listened to it a couple of times this morning on my way into work. It's still as I remember and probably enjoy it for all the reasons you don't! I can certainly see why it would would seem hurried to some ears and indeed Gilels takes it at breakneck speed towards the finale that almost leaves you breathless by the end into a real maelstrom of emotion.

[George]

If someone has a link to that 1965 Gilels Ballade, I'd appreciate it. I missed the download the first time around and i have been on a Chopin kick lately.