New on YouTube:
Liszt: Transcendental Etude in D-flat major, No.11 (Harmonies du Soir)
A live 1952 performance from the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, broadcast on Moscow Radio.
Stalin is still alive.
Gilels never recorded this piece.
Unbelievable.
Bavarian Radio is claiming him as a local…
The orchestra has cancelled concerts until after the…
In a Telegraph interview with Nicholas Kenyon, Dudamel…
The Viennese emporium of Doblinger, where Beethoven bought…
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I would never pretend that I know a lot about the world of classical piano. Frankly, I listen much more to jazz pianists (I love jazz). But Gilels strikes me as having possessed that rare combination of effortless sounding facility, combined with genuine musical sensitivity. Please, if I’m wrong about this, let me know and help me to get things into correct perspective.
Regardless, I enjoyed listening to this.
“Stalin is still alive” . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9eAshaPvYw
An excellent film. Absurd in the best possible ways.
+1
When I saw the words “Radio Moscow” and “Stalin is still alive”, I immediately thought of that clever film.
Gilels was one of all time greats. Glorious resonant sound, very straightforward as far as interpretation, most of the time anyway. Everything he played sounded grand.
One thing I particularly love about Gilels’ playing is that although he could play with great power and even swamp a symphony orchestra playing flat out he never hammered the keyboard.
Interesting to compare with Richter playing the same piece. Richter has a quality of abandon missing in Gilles. That said, I think I could listen more often to Gilles, playing Richter for a special occasion.
Truly extraordinary pianist who in my opinion was often underrated because of what I consider a cult of Richter who was at times conversely overrated.
I love this piece but find I am strangely unmoved by this performance.
I agree, partly because I don’t like the sound of the instrument Gilels plays on. Moreover, I generally like Gilels’ later recordings. He became mellower, wiser and more profound. I can only hope that Yuja Wang will go down the same path. There are signs she is.
Thank you for posting this rarity. Gilels was undoubtedly a great one. However, in this piece, I prefer the outstanding performances by Bolet (Decca 1986) and especially Trifonov (second part of his epic recital in Lyon, France (2014), available on YouTube).