Following the demise of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1991 several record
companies were quick to release discs “from the archives”.
Some of them claimed to have access to vast stocks of original
master tapes of recordings many of which had never been heard.
Whether these claims were true or not some of those series were
short-lived and few companies have continued over time to release
anything “new”. One that is still doing so is Brilliant
Classics and this 3 CD set is a case in point.
I don’t know whether any of the recordings on the set
have been heard before but in any event collectively it is a
wonderful document to celebrate the achievement of one of the
greatest pianists of the last century. Born in Odessa in 1916,
Gilels made his debut at the age of twelve giving a recital
of Beethoven, Chopin, Scarlatti and Schumann which was well
received. I don’t know if there is any real accuracy in
statements that explain the influences upon musicians through
their teacher’s teachers but if there is then through
Gilels’ teacher there are links back to Chopin and Clementi.
I take my hat off to anyone who can discern those influences,
particularly when he plays the likes of Prokofiev, or am I just
being a doubting Thomas?
In any event the first disc is devoted to live recordings of
Gilels playing Prokofiev. I always find it really interesting
how one’s tastes develop over the years because there
was a time when I found Prokofiev more difficult to understand
and appreciate than Shostakovich. I think it was that I found
Prokofiev’s music more complex and his rhythms less obvious
than Shostakovich. Now, however, I just adore his music and
find his spiky rhythms highly satisfying and amusing and this
is particularly the case with the scherzo of his second piano
sonata which just makes me smile from ear to ear it’s
so funny. Written when Prokofiev was only 20 we can see that
his style was already well formed and though he honed it he
didn’t alter his basic ideas much thank heavens. Gilels
had a particular affection for Prokofiev’s third piano
sonata and it is here in a recording from January 1984. The
only problem with live recordings made in winter, as most of
these were, is that people cough more than they do in summer
but it is a great recording nevertheless. Gilels was fortunate
enough at eleven years of age to have seen Prokofiev give a
concert of his own music in Odessa in 1927. He made the composer’s
music one of his specialities and was repaid when Prokofiev
dedicated his eighth sonata to Gilels who gave its première
in 1944. It remained one his favourite works to play. Again
having been recorded in January 1964 in this case, we have to
put up with even more coughing but putting that aside it is
marvellous to have the dedicatee playing this sonata with the
subtlety he was renowned for as well as well as his insight
into Prokofiev’s unique musical view. Despite the first
movement being marked Andante dolce there are plenty
of powerful moments and they present no problems to Gilels who
knew how to hit the keys with sufficient force when required
as well as gently caressing them at other times. I don’t
know whether any re-mastering work was done on these recordings;
they are certainly “clean” enough but the piano
itself sounds rather tinny here, though that still does not
detract from the artistry on display. The second movement marked
Andante sognando certainly lives up to it as Gilels sounds
as dreamy as a somnambulist. The sleeper awakes abruptly in
the final Vivace which has all Prokofiev’s special
hallmarks including coruscating notes that tumble like rapids
that flash in the brilliance of bright sunlight. It’s
no wonder the end brings rapturous applause from the audience.
There are more dreamy moments in the selection Gilels plays
from Visions fugitives Op.22 which are so lovely. The
Toccata Op.11, however, is another example of the way
Prokofiev could create a kind of musical maelstrom with the
notes literally hurtling along. It’s a real white knuckle
ride that is a furious and dazzling display of breathtakingly
staggering proportions. Disc one ends with the famous March
from The Love for Three Oranges.
Though I always find it hard to leave Prokofiev the second disc
begins with Scriabin and one could not imagine a collection
of Russian music that did not include him though his music is
not typically Russian in any way. Scriabin created his own totally
unique sound-world divorced from any easily identifiable tradition.
Gilels with his sensitivity was an ideal Scriabin interpreter
who was able to reveal every nuance in this most ethereal music.
While his power is often called upon his deft touch is perfect
when Scriabin is at his most otherworldly. The 1984 recording
of the 3rd piano sonata is as fresh sounding as if
it had been made today. It’s back to March 1957 for sonata
no.4 though but this is also amazingly good, despite the seemingly
inevitable coughing. I’ve recently reviewed Vladimir Feltsman
playing Scriabin and so can compare this rendition with Feltsman’s
recorded just last year. Feltsman takes a more leisurely pace
with a recording that lasts a full one minute and fifteen seconds
longer which is quite considerable for a piece that is still
well under ten. With the benefit of modern equipment and a studio
environment it is easy to see why most people would be likely
to choose Feltsman over Gilels but given the choice of having
both it is just great to own his historic recording which is
so majestic and insightful. With Scriabin’s Préludes
Op.74 I can also make a comparison with the Feltsman disc.
Gilels’ was recorded in January 1984 like the 3rd
sonata and the sound again is excellent to my ears. There is
little to choose between them pianistically and only a single
second in length. I love Scriabin’s markings as with no.4
in this set which are Slow, vague, indecisive. It was
a cruel irony that Scriabin who in 1905 wrote “I am God!
... I am the peak” should die at the early age of 43 from
a shaving cut, though no doubt religious fundamentalists would
have an explanation.
This second disc is completed by Medtner’s Sonata in
G minor Op.22 the recording of which dates from January
1954. As the booklet explains, it was a favourite work, not
only of Gilels, but also of Prokofiev and Horowitz which is
very telling. It is interesting that both Scriabin and Medtner
were both pupils of Vasily Safonov at the Moscow Conservatory
and there is some similarity in their late romantic style though
Medtner was very definitely a Russian composer whose nationality
is clearly imprinted in his music. There is no applause at the
end of this recording so I imagine it was made in a studio and
so is free from the results of audiences with winter colds;
it is merciful that the artists themselves are either immune
from them or know how to keep them in check! Medtner’s
sonata is a gorgeous work that affords Gilels ample opportunity
to show his gifts of style and pace. It is quite remarkable
that a recording that is almost 60 years old should sound so
fresh but so it does.
The final disc in this enjoyable set is more of a typical popular
Russian programme of works by Tchaikovsky, Glazunov and Rachmaninov.
The recording details for the bulk of this disc are unknown
but are from different dates I think; the Tchaikovsky strikes
me as a studio recording. His 6 Morceaux Op.19, despite
their early opus number, were composed in 1873 when Tchaikovsky
was 33 and are very pretty little pieces that show the composer’s
characteristic flair for melody. We then move on to Glazunov
whose Piano Sonata No.2 in E minor Op.75 Gilels plays
with great aplomb. It was written in Glazunov’s middle
period when he was 36 and is substantial though undemanding.
This recording was certainly live; the audience applaud at the
end of the each movement (tut, tut!) and the piano sound is
uneven. I think if I’d been responsible for compiling
this set I’d have chosen something else instead of this.
The real meat on this last disc, however, comprises the sequence
of 8 works by Rachmaninov recorded live in December 1977 and
that begin with his Daisies Op.38 No.3. Gilels’
soft touch is just what is required for such a piece and it
is a delightful start to this section. The Vocalise Op.34
No.14 is so very well known and has spawned many versions.
Its dreamlike and floating nature is brought out perfectly here
in a well measured and nuanced account. Moving on to 5 of his
preludes we hear probably Rachmaninov’s most well known
work apart from his 2nd Piano Concerto: the wonderful
and moving Prelude in C sharp minor Op.3 No.2 that surely
no one is immune to. It is played here with all the power and
majesty required for a truly great performance. I still find
it amazing that anyone could have written that at the age of
19. One might say “Follow that!” and the Prelude
in B flat Op.23 No.2 comes close but he was 30 by then and
37 by the time he wrote the one in B Op.32 No.11. This comes
between two others from the Op.23 set, the last of which, played
here, in G minor Op.23 No.5, is as famous as the No.2 and again
is so characteristic of Rachmaninov at his romantic best. If
the composer himself with his incredibly long fingers could
have played them better I’d like to hear it - and no doubt
it’s available. The final work of the disc and the set
is Rachmaninov’s Étude-tableau in E flat minor
Op.39 No.5 which is a gentle piece.
The booklet notes describe the 20th century as being
the start of the so called Russian ‘piano school’
led by the great piano composers Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev
(and including Medtner and Glazunov) and which continued through
the virtuosos Neuhaus, Yudina, Sofronitsky, down to the LP generation
of Richter and Gilels and which has continued with Ashkenazy,
Pletnev and Kissin, continuing today with many others. One could
write a book if one hasn’t already been about this Russian
phenomenon which also embraces violinists and cellists among
others. The ‘piano school’ however, is such a phenomenon
that the majority of the greatest pianists in the last 100 plus
years have been of that school. That country made the art of
pianism its own in the same way as it made ballet. Emil Gilels
who won so many prizes was without a doubt one of the most outstanding
examples of that school and the history of the piano will always
include a section about him. When he died unexpectedly in 1985
at the age of 69 (not nearly 80 as quoted in the notes) the
world lost a superstar in the true sense of the word. That is
why sets like this are cherished possessions for lovers of the
piano and at Brilliant Classics’ brilliant prices nobody
will want to be without this one.
Steve Arloff
Track listing
CD 1
Sergei PROKOFIEV
(1891-1953)
1-4. Piano Sonata No.2 in D minor Op.14 [17:34]; 5. Piano Sonata
No.3 in A minor Op.28 [8:18]; 6-8. Piano Sonata No.8 in B flat
Op.84 [28:27]; 9.Visions fugitives Op.22 (selection) [9:42];
10.Toccata Op.11 [4:34]; 11. March (from The Love for Three
Oranges) [1:40]
CD 2
Alexander SCRIABIN
(1872-1915)
1-3. Piano Sonata No.3 in F sharp minor Op.23 [20:46]; 4. Piano
Sonata No.4 in F sharp minor Op.30 [7:08]; 5-9. Preludes Op.
74 [6:09]
Nicolai MEDTNER
(1880-1951)
10. Sonata in G minor Op.22 [16:32]
CD 3
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY
(1840-1893)
1-6. 6 Morceaux Op.19 [25:31]
Alexander GLAZUNOV
(1865-1936)
7-9. Piano Sonata No.2 in E minor Op.75 [22:41]
Sergei RACHMANINOV
(1873-1943)
10. Daisies [2:23]; 11. Vocalise [6:00]; 12-16. 5 Preludes [17:03];
17. Étude-tableau in E flat minor Op.39 No.5 [4:49]
rec. May 1951 (CD1:1-4); January 1954 (CD2:10); March 1957 (CD2:4);
January 1967 (CD1:6-8); December 1977 (CD3: 10-17); January
1984 (CD1: 5; CD2:1-3, 5-9); Unknown (CD1: 9-11; CD3:1-9)
Emil Gilels (piano) 