Emil Gilels
Emil Gilels was one of the great pianists of history, renowned for his clear, steady playing as much as for his virtuoso brilliance. He was a master of a wide repertory from the time of Bach to his own compatriots and one of the first pianists to adopt a modern, more objective style of playing and interpreting music. He was also one of the first Soviet artists allowed to perform in the West following World War II. His numerous recordings made both in studio and from live recitals and on both Soviet state-sponsored and Western labels have been digitally remastered for contemporary listeners to experience his legacy.
Gilels was born in Odessa on October 19, 1916. The son of a bookkeeper in a sugar factory, Gilels grew up in a musical family: his parents were enthusiastic amateur pianists. Gilels' younger sister, Elizabeth, became a violinist. He entered the Odessa Institute of Music and Drama in 1922 to study with Yakov Tkatch and Berthe Ringold. Following a successful debut as a child prodigy in 1929, he transferred to study at the Odessa Conservatory in 1932, where Arthur Rubinstein heard him. With Rubinstein's encouragement, Gilels entered the All-Union Musicians' Competition for pianists in 1933 and captured the top prize, the first in a string of prizes he would win in international competitions in the mid-'30s. He was simultaneously studying with Heinrich Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory and became Neuhaus' assistant in 1938. Gilels and David Oistrakh were meant to appear at the 1939 New York World's Fair, but the outbreak of World War II in Europe prevented their travel. Throughout the war, Gilels was confined to the Soviet Union, performing for the troops and in occupied cities. After the war, he won the Stalin Prize, and over the years, he was given many other awards and honors in recognition of his contributions to morale during the war.
Gilels, Leonid Kogan -- his sister's husband -- and Mstislav Rostropovich formed a trio in 1945. Gilels and his sister gave recitals after the war, and he also performed two-piano music with Yacov Flier. In 1947, Gilels married pianist and composer Farizet Khutsyostova, whom he had met when they were both students at the Moscow Conservatory. Their daughter Elena also became a concert pianist. The year after Gilels' marriage, he made his first appearance outside the Soviet Union, a recital in Prague. This was followed by concerts in Florence, Scandinavia, and Berlin and by his first recordings. Gilels made his triumphant American debut in October 1955 with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, becoming the first prominent Soviet musician to appear in the United States since the start of the Cold War. He went on to perform to equal acclaim in New York, where the contrast between his small physical stature and his magisterial playing prompted the New York Times to call him "the little giant." Gilels returned to North America for a Canadian tour the following year and had another successful debut in England in 1959.
Gilels was a two-time recipient of the Order of Lenin in the 1960s, as well as the Order of Commandeur Mérite Culturel et Artistique de Paris and Belgium's Order of Leopold. Throughout his performing career, Gilels continued to teach at the Moscow Conservatory, taking a few private students and teaching classes in technique. He died in Moscow on October 14, 1985. Gilels' strength was in the clarity and ease with which he played, in his brilliance, and in his "strong and unassuming musicianship," as critic Harold Schoenberg, who called him the "thinking man's pianist," put it. Indeed, Gilels' interpretations were always thought-provoking, inviting the listener the grasp the spiritual and intellectual totality of a particular composition. The list of composers he was known for playing is long, but a survey of his recordings, from youthful impulsiveness to mature mastery of subtle detail, is a well-rewarded journey.
© TiVo Staff /TiVo
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Grieg: Lyric Pieces
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 31 dic. 1974
Discoteca Ideal Qobuz24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Piano Quintet "The Trout"; String Quartet "Death And The Maiden"
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 7 abr. 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: The Piano Concertos; Fantasias Op. 116
Emil Gilels, Berliner Philharmoniker, Eugen Jochum
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 7 abr. 2015
Discoteca Ideal Qobuz24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Piano Concerto K.595; Concerto for 2 Pianos K.365 / Schubert: Fantasy D940
Elena Gilels, Emil Gilels, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 1 ene. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 by Emil Gilels
Emil Gilels, Eugen Jochum, Concertgebouworkest
Clásica - Editado por Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording el 11 feb. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The Five Piano Concertos, Variations, Op. 76, WoO 71 & 80
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 1 ene. 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos 4 & 5 "The Emperor"
Philharmonia Orchestra, Emil Gilels
Clásica - Editado por Regis Records el 13 sept. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Concerto pour piano No. 4 (Stereo Version)
Emil Gilels, Leopold Ludwig, Philharmonia Orchestra
Varios - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Scarlatti: 26 Keyboard Sonatas by Emil Gilels
Clásica - Editado por Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording el 5 sept. 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, Liszt, Mozart, Rameau, Scarlatti & Schumann
Piano solo - Editado por Les Indispensables de Diapason el 23 feb. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
TCHAIKOVSKY: VIOLIN CONCERTO, PIANO CONCERTO No. 1
Clásica - Editado por Nar Classical el 12 abr. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23
Clásica - Editado por RCA Red Seal el 1 ene. 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: The 5 Piano Concertos by Emil Gilels (Remastered 2020, Live 1958)
Emil Gilels, Kurt Sanderling, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording el 13 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Ludwig, Emil Gilels
Varios - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart & Haydn: Piano Concertos
Clásica - Editado por JSC Firma Melodiya el 1 ene. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Nos.8 "Pathétique", 13 & 14 "Moonlight"
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 1 ene. 1981
Discoteca Ideal Qobuz16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Violin Concerto No. 3, Introduction & Rondo capriccioso
Emil Gilels, Mstislav Rostropovich, Arthur Grumiaux, Isaac Stern
Música concertante - Editado por Praga Digitals el 1 may. 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Haydn: Piano Trios H.XV Nos.16 & 19 / Beethoven: Piano Trios WoO38 & Op.97 / Schumann: Piano Trio Op.63 / Fauré: Piano Quartet Op.15
Mstislav Rostropovich, Emil Gilels, Leonid Kogan, Rudolf Barshai
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 1 ene. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5. Variations. Dvorák Symphony No. 8
Emil Gilels, The Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 11 ene. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 2
Emil Gilels, André Cluytens, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Clásica - Editado por Warner Classics el 6 feb. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Emil Gilels, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Karel Ancerl, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Clásica - Editado por Praga Digitals el 1 jun. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo