Born on this day in 1916 was the great Russian pianist (or Ukrainian – he was born in Odessa, then part of the Russian Empire), Emil Gilels. As well as being a master of the Romantic repertoire – Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, etc. – he was also a brilliant interpreter of Bach and Scarlatti. Here he is in recital at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, playing Bach's Prelude in B Minor (BVW855a), transcribed by Siloti...
And here, by way of contrast, is the same piece played by today's outstanding Bach interpreter, Vikingur Olafsson, whose newly released Goldberg Variations are on my birthday list...
Gilels is my preference in this piece but for no valid reason I can find, so entirely subjective. Olafsson is superb, of course.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean, Anon. I guess Gilels's interpretation is more warmly 'romantic', while Olafsson's is cooler, but I love the way he makes every note count, and sing.
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