October 23, 2017.Emil Gilels.Last week we intended to write about the great Russian pianist, Emil Gilels but ran out of space.This week, even though we have several very interesting anniversaries, we’ll start with him.Emil Gilels was born in Odessa on October 19th of 1916.At that time, the musical Odessa was an amazing place.The whole school of violin playing came out of Odessa: Pyotr Stolyarsky established it, and among his students were David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, Boris Goldstein, and Emil’s sister, Elizabeth Gilels.The pianists Benno Moiseiwitsch, Vladimir de Pachmann, Shura Cherkassky, Yakov Zak were all from Odessa.Sviatoslav Richter, though not born in Odessa, studied there.As most of the Odessa musicians, Emil Gilels was born into a Jewish family.His first teacher, at the age of five and a half, was Yakov Tkach (who, as Gilels acknowledged later, built the foundation of the pianist’s prodigious technique).Emil gave his first public concert at the age of 12.In 1930, not quite 14, he was accepted into the Odessa Conservatory, class of Berta Reingbald, whose other star pupil was Tatiana Goldfarb.In 1932 he met Arthur Rubinstein, who was visiting Odessa, and they became friends, even though Rubinstein was almost 30 years older.In 1933 Gilels won the first All-Union Performers’ Competition in Moscow and became famous overnight.He graduated from the Odessa Conservatory in 1935 and for the following three years studied with Heinrich Neuhaus in Moscow.He won several piano competitions, including the Concours Eugène Ysaÿe, Brussels, in 1938, and established himself as one of the most brilliant young pianists in the Soviet Union.Sergei Rachmaninov, then in the States, had heard about Gilels since his win in Moscow in 1933.After Brussels, many of Gilels’s performances were recorded, and Rachmaninov could listen to them on the radio.He decided that Gilels was his worthy successor, and sent him the Anton Rubinstein medal, which he received upon graduating from the Conservatory, and his Conservatory diploma.Gilels cherished these gifts for the rest of his life.
During WWII Gilels performed for the troops and, in 1944, premiered Prokofiev’s 8th piano sonata.In 1945, he formed a highly successful trio with Leonid Kogan (his brother in law – Kogan married his sister, the violinist Elizabeth) and the 23-year old Mstislav Rostropovich.After the war he became one of the first Soviet musicians to be allowed to travel and perform abroad (David Oistrach was another pioneer).Gilels played his American debut at the Carnegie Hall in October of 1955.Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra.The performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano concerto was a triumph (both Rachmaninov and Horowitz also chose this concerto for their debuts).The rest of his US tour was equally successful.He returned to the States several times, and was always received equally well.Gilels was permitted to travel to other Western countries, a privilege not afforded to many Soviet musicians.He toured all over Europe and Japan playing with the greatest orchestras and conductors.Still, in the centralized Soviet Union, where everything had to be ranked, he was considered to be second to Sviatoslav Richter, as Kogan was considered second to Oistrakh, or Danill Shafran – to Rostropovich.These comparisons of course are nonsense, Gilels was second to no one, he was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.In 1981, after a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam Gilels suffered a heart attack.He never fully recovered and died on October 14th of 1985 in Moscow.
Gilels’s repertoire was phenomenally broad.He played “everything.”He was considered one of the greatest interpreters of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas.He recorded all of Beethoven’s piano concertos seven times.His Mozart was incomparable.Out of this treasure trove we’ll play just two sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti – and that’s because Scarlatti was also born this week, on October 26th of 1685.Here’s his sonata Sonata K.141, and here – Sonata K.533. Both were recorded live in London in 1957.
Emil Gilels, 2017
October 23, 2017. Emil Gilels. Last week we intended to write about the great Russian pianist, Emil Gilels but ran out of space. This week, even though we have several very interesting anniversaries, we’ll start with him. Emil Gilels was born in Odessa on October 19th of 1916. At that time, the musical Odessa was an amazing place. The whole school of violin
playing came out of Odessa: Pyotr Stolyarsky established it, and among his students were David Oistrakh, Nathan Milstein, Boris Goldstein, and Emil’s sister, Elizabeth Gilels. The pianists Benno Moiseiwitsch, Vladimir de Pachmann, Shura Cherkassky, Yakov Zak were all from Odessa. Sviatoslav Richter, though not born in Odessa, studied there. As most of the Odessa musicians, Emil Gilels was born into a Jewish family. His first teacher, at the age of five and a half, was Yakov Tkach (who, as Gilels acknowledged later, built the foundation of the pianist’s prodigious technique). Emil gave his first public concert at the age of 12. In 1930, not quite 14, he was accepted into the Odessa Conservatory, class of Berta Reingbald, whose other star pupil was Tatiana Goldfarb. In 1932 he met Arthur Rubinstein, who was visiting Odessa, and they became friends, even though Rubinstein was almost 30 years older. In 1933 Gilels won the first All-Union Performers’ Competition in Moscow and became famous overnight. He graduated from the Odessa Conservatory in 1935 and for the following three years studied with Heinrich Neuhaus in Moscow. He won several piano competitions, including the Concours Eugène Ysaÿe, Brussels, in 1938, and established himself as one of the most brilliant young pianists in the Soviet Union. Sergei Rachmaninov, then in the States, had heard about Gilels since his win in Moscow in 1933. After Brussels, many of Gilels’s performances were recorded, and Rachmaninov could listen to them on the radio. He decided that Gilels was his worthy successor, and sent him the Anton Rubinstein medal, which he received upon graduating from the Conservatory, and his Conservatory diploma. Gilels cherished these gifts for the rest of his life.
During WWII Gilels performed for the troops and, in 1944, premiered Prokofiev’s 8th piano sonata. In 1945, he formed a highly successful trio with Leonid Kogan (his brother in law – Kogan married his sister, the violinist Elizabeth) and the 23-year old Mstislav Rostropovich. After the war he became one of the first Soviet musicians to be allowed to travel and perform abroad (David Oistrach was another pioneer). Gilels played his American debut at the Carnegie Hall in October of 1955. Eugene Ormandy conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra. The performance of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano concerto was a triumph (both Rachmaninov and Horowitz also chose this concerto for their debuts). The rest of his US tour was equally successful. He returned to the States several times, and was always received equally well. Gilels was permitted to travel to other Western countries, a privilege not afforded to many Soviet musicians. He toured all over Europe and Japan playing with the greatest orchestras and conductors. Still, in the centralized Soviet Union, where everything had to be ranked, he was considered to be second to Sviatoslav Richter, as Kogan was considered second to Oistrakh, or Danill Shafran – to Rostropovich. These comparisons of course are nonsense, Gilels was second to no one, he was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. In 1981, after a concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam Gilels suffered a heart attack. He never fully recovered and died on October 14th of 1985 in Moscow.
Gilels’s repertoire was phenomenally broad. He played “everything.” He was considered one of the greatest interpreters of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas. He recorded all of Beethoven’s piano concertos seven times. His Mozart was incomparable. Out of this treasure trove we’ll play just two sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti – and that’s because Scarlatti was also born this week, on October 26th of 1685. Here’s his sonata Sonata K.141, and here – Sonata K.533. Both were recorded live in London in 1957.