“Emil Gilels stands out as giant among giants,” wrote Gramophone when the Odessa-born pianist died in 1985. “In terms of virtuosity he was second to none, yet his leonine power was tempered by a delicacy and poetry that few have matched and none has surpassed.” Beethoven was at the heart of Gilels’ repertoire and in 1968 he recorded this complete cycle of the composer’s piano concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra and its long-standing maestro, another musical titan of the era, George Szell.
Emil Gilels was renowned for playing Beethoven, like his predecessors Artur Schnabel, Wilhelm Backhaus and Rudolf Serkin. He made his name in his native land as promoter of Russian music - that of Rachmaninov, of course (still revered despite his exile in America), Prokofiev, the prodigal son harshly punished on his return to the Soviet Union and Kabalevsky, the epitome of professionalism and popular music. Here you can enjoy a unique triptych, which studiedly sheers away from Svjastoslav Richter’s repertoire.
Günter Wand (1912-2002) left us dozens of gramophone records: complete symphonic cycles and impressive live recordings of his concerts with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. The archetypical anti-star all his life and for that very reason under-appreciated, this conductor only attained international recognition in his old age as an unequalled interpreter of classical music. Accordingly, most of these multiple-award-winning benchmark recordings date from his later years. Wand's music-making moved those who heard it with its impeccable balance of perfection coupled with faithfulness to the original, emotional fulfilment, intellectual control, utmost sensitivity and spiritual penetration. He described his mission as "serving music", a cause to which this totally unpretentious man remained committed for seventy years. He rose to be one of the true "greats" of the twentieth century, a figure standing head and shoulders above our restless times, his name synonymous with the highest musical quality.
As part of DG’s celebrations of its incredible pianistic heritage both past and present, the Yellow Label presents within its PIANO MASTERS campaign 8 albums of outstanding performances from its unrivalled roster of pianists accompanied by the two pillars of German musical life: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin. The witty and eye-catching artwork collects celebrated performances by Pollini, Gilels, Argerich, Barenboim, Géza Anda, Foldes, the Labèque sisters and Yundi.
As part of DG’s celebrations of its incredible pianistic heritage both past and present, the Yellow Label presents within its PIANO MASTERS campaign 8 albums of outstanding performances from its unrivalled roster of pianists accompanied by the two pillars of German musical life: the Berlin Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Berlin. The witty and eye-catching artwork collects celebrated performances by Pollini, Gilels, Argerich, Barenboim, Géza Anda, Foldes, the Labèque sisters and Yundi.
Emil Gilels was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Three decades after his death, many of his recordings still represent the benchmark to which all others are compared.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2016 Deutsche Grammophon brings together for the first time all of its Gilels recordings in a 24CD box-set with original covers, including seven discs of rare Russian recordings that he made at the beginning of his career.
For the 100th anniversary of Emil Gilels, one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, Melodiya presents an anthology of his pianistic legacy. “Titans of the piano like Gilels are born once in a hundred years,” wrote a Japanese correspondent in 1957; similar comments accompanied the musician’s performances throughout his performing career.
The performance of the young man from the Odessa Conservatory at the 1933 First All-Union Competition in Moscow came as a bombshell: the audience gave him a standing ovation, and unfamiliar people congratulated each other on the emergence of a genius.
A special limited-edition 50 CD set of the world's favourite piano concertos, sonatas and other solo pieces. A host of famous pianists perform music from J.S.Bach to Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev and Gershwin. This collection of discs includes the five Beethoven Concertos, three Rachmaninov Concertos as well as concertos by Brahms, Grieg, Mendelssohn, Liszt, Schumann and Ravel as well as six Mozart Concertos.