Gilels: Beethoven Piano Sonatas No. 17 "Tempest" & No. 18 - DG 2532 061 (DDD)

$

26

redgarnett Store ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This superb LP from Deutsche Grammophon (2532 061, German pressing, DDD stereo) features legendary pianist Emil Gilel's magnificent accounts of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas No. 17 in D minor Op. 31 No. 2 “Tempest” and No. 18 in E-flat Major Op. 31 No. 3, both recorded in October 1981 in the rich acoustics of the Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin.

Wrote the eminent critic Richard Osborne in his review for the December 1982 issue of The Gramophone:

"Like all Gilels's records, this newest one offers an alluring range of insights and particular pleasures. The Tempest is, of course, an exceptionally difficult sonata to bring off, though it has been often illuminatingly served on record by pianists as various as Schnabel, Arrau, Kempff, Richter and Brendel. Gilds is predictably fine, not least in the furthest spaces of the Adagio which are searching and bright-toned though not exactly serene. In this performance, as in all great performances of the sonata, the finale breaks in with a cheerfulness which is illusory, the joy of motion, after the still spaces of the Adagio, tragically souring as the motion is revealed more and more to be the obsessive questing of a troubled spirit. Technically, Gilels is here at his most complete. Where Richter (HMV ASD450, 10/61n1a) was too beguilingly sotto voce, and where a pianist like Ashkenazy (Decca) sees crescendos as little more than mere extrovert surges of tone, Gilels sculpts dynamics out of the music's own brute matter, engraving cryptic runes on the music's granite surface.

“In the first movement, Gilels sets up an electric tension between the high-strung allegro subjects, brilliantly delineated, and the intrusive recitatives which are delivered by him with a disembodied beauty that goes far beyond mere tonal allure. Here, very clearly, are more of those 'special' moments which Nottebohm, in another context, has called "symbolic". As Gilds realizes them, we are made to look forward to parts of the G major Piano Concerto and the dramatic still points at the heart of the first movements of the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Symphonies. Right at the start of the Adagio, where Gilds is at his most controlled (but where pedal releases occasionally marginally discolour) I don't quite sense the music speaking through silences as it does with Schnabel (HMV mono RLS755, 4/81); some collectors may also find it instructive to compare Gilels with Arrau (Philips) whose timing, placing, and sustaining of the melodic line's fractured 'voicings' is an object lesson in how these things can be done. But this is a comparatively local point in what is a major reconnaissance of the work's extensive boundaries.

“Giles's reading of the Sonata Op. 31 No. 3 is bright-toned and sharply focused, the delineation of detail wonderfully fine-grained; a reading that has that necessary elegance of diction which is the basis of true wit. Occasionally, Gilels's use of the ritardundo will surprise; some may find it mannered; and he occasionally pedals through rests. But aficionados of the Gilds style will find much to delight them in all four movements, not least the 'melodic' loveliness of the Minuet as Giles unfolds it to us and the hunting finale which provides a further demonstration of the very finest kind of keyboard control; both in the aerial deftness of the chase and in its sturdier, more bracing moods. Over in a flash, the performance invites an urgent schedule of delighted re-appraisals.

“The digital recordings transmit, with their own special brand of technical elegance, piano sound which is both lustrous and refined. Though some details of Gilds's interpretations may temporarily disorinentate conservative tastes. This is a record of immense distinction.”

Incidentally, the cover photo of Gilels was taken by Reinhart Wolf, Hamburg. There are fine liner notes on the reverse side of the jacket – provided in English, German, and French – by Hartmut Fldat.

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the jacket is VERY GOOD+. There is edgewear, more so at corners, but really that is all. There are no seamsplits, bends, owners’ markings, or other defects and the album remains solid, bright, glossy, and attractive – overall, a very good collector’s copy.

The condition of the LP is near-MINT and playback is superb – overall, a truly fine collector's copy.

PLEASE NOTE:
This LP has been carefully cleaned using a VPI cleaning machine. All LPs are provided with a new Nagaoka (or Nagaoka-style) inner sleeve. The images I've provided are of the actual item you are potentially bidding on - these are not stock images or images I've taken from other sites. Bid with confidence!

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