Went to his concerts from the mid-fifties through the 70s. Always liked his playing and personality (on and off stage). He exercised an aristocratic control over tempi, even during the throes of climactic surges. And his touch and tone, whether calling forth incised crispness or a glorious warmth, was never superficial - take his late Grieg Lyric Pieces, he was always improving where it matters most - true music interpreted through the exquisiteness of beauy.
It is earlier recording than 1950. I remember it was on the old soviet LP called "Юный Гилельс" (young Gilels). In 1950 he was 34 years old, so not so юный any more)) But who knows. Anyway buy the quality of the recording I doubt that it's 1930s. I think it should be mid-late1940s.
When Nikolay Rubinstein finished premiering this work, Franz Liszt went up on stage and played it back from memory, without a mistake according to Rubinstein and Balakirev.
@Lassannn Something tells me rubenstein said "Hold this" and gave liszt the score:) hehehehe I can see that. Liszt was one of those we need to be alive today and challange people.
This is definitely my favourite recording of this piece. Gilels' phrasing and dynamic contrast is a much better reflection of the piece, and the tempo is tasteful while still maintaining that seductive but electrifying energy that every true fantasy emanates! Wonderful!
After a couple years, this is still my favorite recording. I bought the score and have practiced some parts myself. Although a couple passages are very difficult, I really like Balakirev's harmonies he uses throughout the piece, and that's what really makes me like it.
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Have you not listened to Kissin? or Cziffra? or Aleksandr? or Berezovsky? As much as I admire Gilels, this is... ummm... a bit messy for my tastes, sorry to say. Kissin's version is, to me, the standard on youtube.
It's funny how even Balakirev himself said that this is a show piece, and Gilels makes it sound so musical and so much like a fantasy that I forget about how technically difficult it is... I get lost in the music!
Not really. Balakirev couldn't manage to play this black beast by his own admission.
Like Schumann and Ravel he wrote music far beyond his capacities as a pianist. The difference among these three is that Balakirev's music was nowhere near as important as the others.
This performance by Gilels is tremendously exciting. G. always missed and blurred lots of notes, but he more than made up for it by playing with no-holds-barred passion and intensely focused energy.
Balakirev said that some parts of this piece were too much for him to handle. He did not quite say that the whole piece was much too difficult for him. He probably managed it slightly slowly, not at a performance level like Rubenstein did. With more practice than he probably wanted to put in, he probably could have played it fine.
@truecrypt According to the Gilels discography, only two of his live recordings of Islamey have survived, one from Moscow (3. 3. 1950) and one from Florence (11. 6. 1951), so this must be one of them -- unless this is a pirate recording (in which it case it seems unlikely that it's from the thirties). I have the Moscow recording on LP and it sounds similar in all respects to this one, but I can't be sure.
I think Andrei Gavrilov's (search for it; it's on this site) rendition is pretty close to perfect, although as far as I'm aware, it's a studio recording, meaning there could have been several takes, thus making the rendition's perfectness less impressive somehow. But still, it remains to this day my favourite version of the piece.
@dYShock Andrei himself once said Gilels technique was the best he had ever seen and he learnt a lot from him. (I'm sure Andrei's recording isn't touched up (after all, he won Tchackovskij competion also playing Islamey without mistakes). Imho, Gilels was firstly a wonderful artist, besides being a great pianist.
Look, he plays it heroically overall, but he commits too many errors (fluffs, mistakes, mis-hits, what have you) to make it a first rate performance. As fine a pianist as he was, this live performance was just not him at his best.
Plus this is one of the hardest pieces ever composed for the piano.
I worry more about the bigger picture than technical errors, and this recording moves me more than any other i've ever heard. Of course, I haven't heard them all, so if you find better ones, please show me! (Not insinuating anything, I really do want to hear a better recording. I'm sure there are plenty out there-just not on youtube.)
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Sorry to Gilels lover, I think this no good play. Sorry, Gilels my idol too. But this no good. Many places too noisy and just too noisy. Not able hear going on what. Gilels sound absent in many places too, no? Sound like flat tire. This surely not good Gilels play. This child play. Sorry, wrong English and my comment.
This is one of the best performances that I have heard of this work. It is also one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano Gilels is a master.
"Emil Gilels died unexpectedly during a medical checkup in Moscow, only a few days before his 69th birthday. Sviatoslav Richter, who knew Gilels well and was a fellow-student of Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory, believed that he was killed accidentally when an incompetent doctor at the Kremlin hospital gave him the wrong injection during a routine checkup."
Well... May be it's time to calm down a get back to the music ;)
Since I know Russian (at least it's my native language) let me put an end to this dispute.
1. Babushka (бабушка) is a normal way to address a grandmother. It's also used to address very old ladies.
2. "Baba" (баба) - sometimes used as "babushka" but usually by grandkids and with first name, f.e. "baba-masha". "Baba" is also a rude word to address a women.
3. Nested dolls (матрёшки/matrioshki) have never been called "babushki".
It should be quite clear to everyone here that smithsherman is full of shit. His comments clearly resemble those of an idiotic numskull armchair critic in their complete lack of common sense. Anyhow, the wonderful sound Gilels gets from his instrument should be enough to classify this as one of the best recordings of Islamey available.
Gilels is fine playing with a few clinkers; the rapid passages are mostly clean and as fast as Horowitz, but H sounds lighter, dancing and more elegant throughout. Gilels 8/10; Horowitz 9/10
there are many out there who decide after names,and fames,they dont really understand music.first-dont compare gilels with horowitz,second-there was nothing horowitz could do technically better on piano than gilels.this gilels was underrated,lived under the shadows of mr.horowitz.he was a great pianist...i just respect him.
I think that most of what you wrote is correct, but the shadow that Emil Gilels lived under (and openly accepted as larger than his own - see Wikipedia) was that of the incomparable Sviatoslav Richter.
well,you know,this comparison...i watched ones a piano competition,30 guys played excellent but 20 had to still go.(im musician,i know what music is).horowitz,gilels,richter,those were all great pianists.why dont we just respect them and enjoy what they doing?just because one has a greater name than the other,he doesnt necessarily mean-for the musical aspect-more than the other....
I think that we have a simple misunderstanding here. I was referring to the following, "One of Richter's first advocates in the West was Emil Gilels, who stated during his first tour of the United States that the critics (who were giving him (Gilels) rave reviews) should "wait until you hear Richter." (Wiki). It was not meant as an insult to Gilels whom I admire greatly. I never thought that he lived under the shadow of Horowitz and was merely clarifying his respect for Richter.
gerryrains-You are quite correct on this point.He certainly is alleged to have said this,and along with Richter,later referred to Sofranitsky as god of the piano.
gerryrains-both Gilels and Richter called Sofranitsky the god of the piano. He loved their playing,and they worshiped his. There does not appear to be any animosity there,as there also was not with Lazar Berman
SMITHSHERMAN: your infamy is universal! You have exposed the metronomic insanity of robotic piano playing; and for your meddling into the unconscious world of emotionless rigidity you will be sacrificed. Hire a body guard and stop eating blintzes.
smithsherman-If you must eat blintzes,then please eat them with sour cream,and reserve the kasha for bow ties as the Jews call them,or farfale as the Italians call them. My facts are correct even though my spelling may not be.
SAGAIAT: Don't worry about Captain Smithsherman. He is wanted dead or alive in Russia with a bounty on his glamourous head. And thank you "long live our free Motherland".
Singsingsing: Yes. for some pianists Gaspard de le nuit is more difficult. But the structure of every hand and fingers sometimes plays a critical role i.e. Rachmaninov considered Chopin's winter winds etude the most difficult and could not manage it, neither could his buddy Horowitz.
hum that's interesting! didn't know about the winter wind facts... i knew (if i'm not mistaken now) that horowitz didn't enjoy playing feux follets either, and it requires somewhat a similar technique as chopin's op.25 n.11 (not so similar, but with some resemblance to).
Smithsherman aka Captain Sliver: maybe the middle section was a bit hasty but "highly elegant butchery" is a bit too harsh considering that the composition does not require sensitivity but rests solely on crisp virtuosity. But a nice slice of ham nevertheless!
I, too, used to tell folks that I was 95 years of age but, like you, it was just so they'd say, "You look great!" Meanwhile, "Slavsya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye, Druzhby narodov nadyozhny oplot!"
2.The slow section misses many fine turns of phrase that denigrate it's fine elan.Fabulous pianism in lieu of Expressive focus,concept & interpretive execution.
Gilels: magic that defies verbal description. Really unprecedented virtuosity that places Gilels on a level reserved only for legends like Liszt who, by the way, considered "Islamey" the most difficult composition written.
Yes, and I find Horowitz' to be more lyrical, too. But be mindful of the perils of crossing Al-SmithSherman: Last time I did, he sent some of his goons to my house dressed as troubadors, and they hurled insults at me from the street all night long...Beware!
Dear Stevie,You're confused.I sent you a delivery of Kasha and Blueberry Blintzes made by authentic Jewish Babushki.Nothing to Beware...it's entirely kosher! Regards,Hezekiah
smithsherman -He has left them uneaten awaiting the sour cream and bow ties.
P.S.-A Babushke is a type of Russian porcelain doll that keeps constantly covering the previous doll, as in one over the other.If we are to circumcise and convert you-you must first get to know these things.
Babushka is a Russian word meaning "grandmother," or more generally (but quite informally) "old lady." In recent years, the term has also come to indicate a strong, outspoken or opinionated woman of any age. In the English language the term may have the following meanings:
*A type of headscarf tied under the chin. "Babushka" is never used in Russia to mean "headscarf".
geryrains-I have never heard a grandmother referred to as anything other than baba. It is possible that this may indeed be the short form of Babushka,but I never heard anyone refer to their baba as babushka.
"I have never heard a grandmother referred to as anything other than baba" - this is an example of self assured ignorance if I've ever seen one. "Бабушка" means "grandmother" in modern Russian, full stop. The dolls you had in mind are called "Матрёшки", I thought it is common knowledge
amyparking.Perhaps you should be called no parking.According to wikipedia-Babushka means (in usage)both an old woman, and rested or stacking dolls. Buba is simply what Russian or other Jews refer to their grand mothers as.This has no bearing on the term Babushka referring to an old lady,or a set of stacking or nested dolls In usage they are simply called Babushka dolls.Perhaps you should pack up your unwarranted sarcasm,and take it to wikipedia to see who it is that is ignorant.
amyparking-in this story you clearly state that Babushka means grandmother in modern Russian.You have since changed your story.You now agree that it simply means an old lady depicted by several nested or stacking dolls.Please write someone else,as you are becoming a nuisance.
actually, this is what a 3 sec google search produced: "Technically, the correct Russian name for the dolls is Matryoshka. Inaccurate terminologies such as babushka dolls seem to have slowly seeped into the foreign vocabularies, unbeknownst to the Russian creators. Interestingly, babushka is the Russian word for grandmother and has little to do with matryoshkas. A possible connection, perhaps, rests on the generous nature of Russian babushkas, spoiling their grandchildren with toys..."
asmyparking-I accept your more diplomatic tone and explanation of how this all came about. In my culture as in wikipedia-the nested or stacking dolls are called Babushka dolls.Wikipedia and not you are probably correct in the Russian meaning of Babushka as grandmother.If so,then they should be advised of this.
Я не понимаю о чем здесь спор, при том что вы начали его категорически отрицая что денотация слова по русски это "мать отца или матери". Этот факт можно прочесть на википедии как и в любом другом месте, тогда как "бабушка" в значении "кукла" осылает к статье о "Матрёшке".
"No,it simply means old lady. THE TERM HAS NEVER CHANGED.Babushka is and always has been an old lady,or a nested group of dolls all depicting an old lady" - ну куда, спрашивается, дальше после этого?
amyparking-Is this not precisely what I said. Was it not you that insisted that it meant grand mother-which it does not! First I defend the possibilitry of you being right,and Babushka possibly referring to a grand mother-as you clearly stated,and now your version becomes-mysteriously -exact ly the same as mine. You are either a game player with little else to do nut annoy me,or one with very serious mental problems.If the latter,then you have my sympathy,but if the former-my contempt.
по поводу вашего стариковского каламбура насчет моего логина - это дурацкий каламбур состоящий из моего имени и вариации на мою фамилию (такую же как у создателя сериала "Южный Парк")
Удачи вам в нахождении переводчика - может так вам удастся притворится что вы владеете великим и могучим Русским языком
amyparking.After re-reading all of our correspondence,it is my conclusion that you require help,and as quickly as possible.Your obvious contradictions make you a candidate for a loony bin, if ever one needed to be in one.
you think that I contradict myself because you cannot read Russian. what did I just write in my latest reply? eh?
I honestly do have a feeling that I belong in a loony bin when someone tells me that the word everyone uses for "grandmother" in the country where I was born means smth else, and keeps telling me I contradict myself when I replied in perfectly lucid and coherent Russian
because you claimed knowledge of this language, which you obviously don't have
I tried to show you that, but you saw only your quote, which I qualified with a phrase meaning smth along the lines of "where do we go from this (level of ignorance)?"
what do you base your claim on? I KNOW RUSSIAN, you don't
again, I really feel like a nut job trying to tell someone that the word through which I referred to my grandmother as a child (as did EVERYONE AROUND ME to their respective grandmothers) means that and not smth else
Though the way you saw a large chunk of text in Cyrillic, didn't realize this is a test or presume that it might contain anything to disprove or qualify your little quote, gives me a sense I'm dealing with someone so thick s/he doesn't know which way to sit on the lavatory
Where are all these negative orgones coming from? Hahahahahahahaaa
BTW..paulostroff99 самый тупоумный человек в Канада. Фактически, любое которое полагается на Wikipedia для данных по хорош, определением, тупоумным. Такая же вещь также применяется к людям которые используют двигатели электронного перевода.
dear retard - "to send up" as a transitive phrasal verb means "to expose the flaws or foibles of [obj] through parody, burlesque, caricature, lampoon, or other forms of satire". having trouble with English as well?
call me a nutter as much as you please, I wasn't the one committing all the hilarious blunders everyone reading this page can witness
gerryrains-No,it simply means old lady. THE TERM HAS NEVER CHANGED.Babushka is and always has been an old lady,or a nested group of dolls all depicting an old lady.Some things never change-this among them!It never meant headscarf,though the old woman always appears to be wearing one.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
I knew that he composed gasprad to be harder than islamey, but it's a bit stupid to compare a sonata-like work (a triptych in english?) to a piece like this...
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Poor comment written by ignorance. Do you really think that a genius and a bright man like Ravel was silly enough to write gaspard "to be harder than islamey". He just wanted to show all the possibilities of a keyboard.
Second mistake by another user: Gaspard has nothing with the sonata form.
Wait,hold the phone - when did I say Gaspard is in sonata form? I said it is stupid to compare the two, the other being a sonata like work. It is in three mvts(or poems if you prefer), so it's kind of stupid comparison. Picture yourself performing islamey and gaspard to jury, of course they're going to be harder on the gaspard because it's a larger work. Both of them are real masterpieces anyway.
Also, why couldn't Ravel think "I'm going to show the possibilities of a keuboard and make it harder than Balakirev's islamey"? Because that's exactly what he did: he showed the possibilities and made it harder, did he not?
I see no large difference between "To be harder than Islamey" and to "show all the possibilites of a keyboard". They are both true. Ravel really did say the quote, and he, in my opininon, of course, actually meant both.
I haven't played either of the 2 pieces, but IMO apart from length gaspard de la nuit seems much much easier than islamey. In what way do you feel it's more difficult?
The difficulties are very different, Islamey being highly physical,sportive:(not so many ageing players continue with it!),it's not musically complex. Gaspard,or specifically "Scarbo" is pianistically,harmonically,interpretively demanding in a much more subtle & complex way. I'd still back Islamey as more"difficult" simply cos few have accident-free performances(not that it's a gauge of a great performance!)whereas i've heard countless satisfying(and accident-free!)Gaspards(at all ages).
Yeah, Islamey is harder unless you sell your soul to the devil to make your rapid octave/chord technique fast enough to play at correct tempo and not get carpal tunnel.
Okay, you don't have to sell your soul, but the point is that you'd have to practice a LOT on rapid octaves/chords.
However, Scarbo requires subtlety, lightness, and a great variety of tone and color. I don't think Islamey is banging, but it's much more straight forward than Scarbo. Arm mangling, but more straight forward.
However (ran out of character limit) this is just my opinion. I'm only a student, and I still have much to learn. As for now, I just sit back and enjoy Gilels' playing!
All three parts have been posted in three posts of various performers, some great, some good, some awful. If nothing else, Perlemuter's version is of historical interest. I like it a great deal.
I might agree with you if there were a better post on YT of Scarbo. The best seems to be the performance by Berezovsky and it just doesn't seem to compare to this six star performance of this incredibly difficult piece. However, Gilels' musicality trumps that of Berezovsky, making this an unfair comparison.
I just found a more fair comparison in my own collection. It really is too big to handle.:) From the superb CD, "Nojima Plays Ravel", Minoru Nojima plays Scarbo with a musicality and technical wizardry lacking in Berezovsky, Pogorelich, and Lisitsa. Nojima's performance of Scarbo doesn't trump this performance by Gilels, but it does equal it.
Hmm. I really enjoy Pogorelich's interpretation of the Gaspard de la Nuit suite. And that's only my personal taste and opinion. I like Emil Gilels as a pianist much more than Pogo anyway, and I love this piece too.
I was just saying in technical difficulty, I believe Scarbo is a little trickier than Islamey. Obviously Gilels is a better pianist.
There IS Michelangeli's gaspard, and also Casadesus'. Particularly Michelangeli's performance is breathtaking, in my opinion. They're not my exact favourites (Haas' and Gulda's are. Ashkenazy's audio recording truly is breath of fresh air), but they're both very good. Of Islamey, I'm not very fond of Gilels' interpretation it's too hevy for my taste. Whil it certainly is great and full of energy, but I prefer the grace and lightness of Arrau and Brendel:]
wow
robert982 1 month ago
we are allowed to be messy on a piece designed to show off. Leaves room for showy emotion. Love it.
trynity7 2 months ago
This totally brings out a huge number of things I never heard before.
trynity7 2 months ago
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Went to his concerts from the mid-fifties through the 70s. Always liked his playing and personality (on and off stage). He exercised an aristocratic control over tempi, even during the throes of climactic surges. And his touch and tone, whether calling forth incised crispness or a glorious warmth, was never superficial - take his late Grieg Lyric Pieces, he was always improving where it matters most - true music interpreted through the exquisiteness of beauy.
palmerplantagenet 6 months ago
Comment removed
palmerplantagenet 6 months ago
It is earlier recording than 1950. I remember it was on the old soviet LP called "Юный Гилельс" (young Gilels). In 1950 he was 34 years old, so not so юный any more)) But who knows. Anyway buy the quality of the recording I doubt that it's 1930s. I think it should be mid-late1940s.
klizmun1 11 months ago
@klizmun1
You're correct! LP set included recordings from late 30s til late 50s.
truecrypt 11 months ago
When Nikolay Rubinstein finished premiering this work, Franz Liszt went up on stage and played it back from memory, without a mistake according to Rubinstein and Balakirev.
Lassannn 1 year ago
@Lassannn That's because Liszt was an alien. I thought everyone knew this.
JOZZYmusic 5 months ago 2
@Lassannn Something tells me rubenstein said "Hold this" and gave liszt the score:) hehehehe I can see that. Liszt was one of those we need to be alive today and challange people.
trynity7 2 months ago
This is definitely my favourite recording of this piece. Gilels' phrasing and dynamic contrast is a much better reflection of the piece, and the tempo is tasteful while still maintaining that seductive but electrifying energy that every true fantasy emanates! Wonderful!
evifnoskcaj 1 year ago
After a couple years, this is still my favorite recording. I bought the score and have practiced some parts myself. Although a couple passages are very difficult, I really like Balakirev's harmonies he uses throughout the piece, and that's what really makes me like it.
OrangeSodaKing 1 year ago
This is my "I must play before I kick the bucket piece"
cedricrlongreen 1 year ago
@cedricrlongreen I agree, it's on my list too :)
OverFjell 1 year ago
@cedricrlongreen totally same here, and make it a legacy heh
trynity7 2 months ago
Sounds VERY authentic, could even "imagine" it was Mr.Balakirev himself who was playing, and yes, look up, he's even smiling!
mylovelylittleone 1 year ago
Balakriev is not as popular as he should be. I have his complete piano works on sheet music and their great.
TheResidentevilfan92 2 years ago 2
Best recording of this piece on youtube?
I think so
MyzTiC44 2 years ago 5
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Have you not listened to Kissin? or Cziffra? or Aleksandr? or Berezovsky? As much as I admire Gilels, this is... ummm... a bit messy for my tastes, sorry to say. Kissin's version is, to me, the standard on youtube.
wsp67326 2 years ago
It's funny how even Balakirev himself said that this is a show piece, and Gilels makes it sound so musical and so much like a fantasy that I forget about how technically difficult it is... I get lost in the music!
OrangeSodaKing 2 years ago 4
there is no sound like gilels'...pure beauty...
mantiswilm 2 years ago 5
i was just admiring horowitz's live rendition, but this is so much more beautiful
mikejr41387 2 years ago 3
Not really. Balakirev couldn't manage to play this black beast by his own admission.
Like Schumann and Ravel he wrote music far beyond his capacities as a pianist. The difference among these three is that Balakirev's music was nowhere near as important as the others.
This performance by Gilels is tremendously exciting. G. always missed and blurred lots of notes, but he more than made up for it by playing with no-holds-barred passion and intensely focused energy.
Pischnaholic 2 years ago 2
...
Balakirev said that some parts of this piece were too much for him to handle. He did not quite say that the whole piece was much too difficult for him. He probably managed it slightly slowly, not at a performance level like Rubenstein did. With more practice than he probably wanted to put in, he probably could have played it fine.
OrangeSodaKing 2 years ago
But you are totally right about Gilels, his musicality is phenominal!!
OrangeSodaKing 2 years ago 3
Balakirev must have been one hell of a pianist.
keelan111 2 years ago
Comment removed
Pischnaholic 2 years ago
Why do ALL pianists make errors in Islamey?
Maybe cause it is the most difficult piece ever written?
1978christos 2 years ago
no it is not the most difficult
AnnMarry19 2 years ago 2
FINALY an almost perfect rendition of 0:25.
Many pianist who play this piece seem to fail at this VERY crucial stage
robindooreman 2 years ago
gilels forever!
klausknulp 2 years ago 4
Anyone knows when this was recorded?
------------------------
Greetings,
Rolf
Historical classical recordings
European Archive, Paris
EuropeanArchive 3 years ago
I don't have precise date right now but it should be mid-30s.
truecrypt 3 years ago
Ooh! Early Gilels!
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
@truecrypt According to the Gilels discography, only two of his live recordings of Islamey have survived, one from Moscow (3. 3. 1950) and one from Florence (11. 6. 1951), so this must be one of them -- unless this is a pirate recording (in which it case it seems unlikely that it's from the thirties). I have the Moscow recording on LP and it sounds similar in all respects to this one, but I can't be sure.
weikko79 1 year ago
@EuropeanArchive 11/6/1951 - Florence - Live
4785689 1 year ago
There's no such thing as a perfect performance of this piece. If there is, please let me know.
prandtastic 3 years ago 2
I agree.... however John Ogden's impressive account of this during the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition won accolades.....
nige1618 2 years ago
(@prandtastic)
nige1618 2 years ago
I think Andrei Gavrilov's (search for it; it's on this site) rendition is pretty close to perfect, although as far as I'm aware, it's a studio recording, meaning there could have been several takes, thus making the rendition's perfectness less impressive somehow. But still, it remains to this day my favourite version of the piece.
dYShock 1 year ago
@dYShock Andrei himself once said Gilels technique was the best he had ever seen and he learnt a lot from him. (I'm sure Andrei's recording isn't touched up (after all, he won Tchackovskij competion also playing Islamey without mistakes). Imho, Gilels was firstly a wonderful artist, besides being a great pianist.
FeanorCurufinwe87 1 year ago
Look, he plays it heroically overall, but he commits too many errors (fluffs, mistakes, mis-hits, what have you) to make it a first rate performance. As fine a pianist as he was, this live performance was just not him at his best.
nearenough3 3 years ago
true, it may have been in his later days.
Plus this is one of the hardest pieces ever composed for the piano.
I worry more about the bigger picture than technical errors, and this recording moves me more than any other i've ever heard. Of course, I haven't heard them all, so if you find better ones, please show me! (Not insinuating anything, I really do want to hear a better recording. I'm sure there are plenty out there-just not on youtube.)
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
Try Lisitsa or Horowitz. I have others on LP and CD in my collection but I can't list them right not. I remember Rutman, Setzer, Ogdon....
nearenough3 3 years ago
good comments overall imo.
on my side, i'd love to play islamey even half as well.
not this lifetime, i'm afraid. hell, even most the liszt t.e.s are still beyond me, and i ain't young no more.
slothvader 2 years ago
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Sorry to Gilels lover, I think this no good play. Sorry, Gilels my idol too. But this no good. Many places too noisy and just too noisy. Not able hear going on what. Gilels sound absent in many places too, no? Sound like flat tire. This surely not good Gilels play. This child play. Sorry, wrong English and my comment.
himitsunosallychan 3 years ago
WOW!!! WOW !!!WOW!!!
alexmanzo19 3 years ago 2
This is one of the best performances that I have heard of this work. It is also one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano Gilels is a master.
concerto35 3 years ago 16
Oui,i'm agree with you.
Guilels est un des seuls pianistes à extraire du chant de cette composition schizophrénique!
antoinezygfryd 3 years ago
wow, this is just absolutely amazing...
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
大学生のとき弾いた思い出の曲。
色々な演奏者の演奏を聴いて、みんな違った演奏を聴かせてくれて 、そう言う弾き方もありだなと思った。
残念なのは自分の理想としているイメージの演奏には未だ出合って ない事かな。
確かに演奏は難しいので、そこが引っかかってる所だと思う。
in Tempoで演奏するGilelsはすごい！
finale98 3 years ago 2
totally
Jeremy7890 3 years ago
I agree. I completely agree.
keelan111 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
he plays it a bit too fast in my opinion
LegalDuck 3 years ago
hmm. in my opinion, i like it this speed, sounds more like a fantasy than if it were a little slower, but like i said, it's just my opinion.
4hpta 3 years ago 16
Oh my bad, this is OrangeSodaKing (from a few comments below) on my uncle's profile. oops.
4hpta 3 years ago 3
wow
isaacjuarezflores 3 years ago 3
i second that, wow.
4c00h 3 years ago 3
Does anybody else hear Borodin at ~1:00?
pupusman 3 years ago
gilels is the sexiest piano player alive. i love him.
fierydog 3 years ago
Well... He died 1985.
Pianisteny2k 3 years ago
stupid russians supposively killed him i know =/ its so sad
fierydog 3 years ago
From Wikipedia:
"Emil Gilels died unexpectedly during a medical checkup in Moscow, only a few days before his 69th birthday. Sviatoslav Richter, who knew Gilels well and was a fellow-student of Neuhaus at the Moscow Conservatory, believed that he was killed accidentally when an incompetent doctor at the Kremlin hospital gave him the wrong injection during a routine checkup."
gerryrains 3 years ago
wow :O
somedudeplayingpiano 3 years ago
richter was pretty hot too ;)
goobleglob 3 years ago
Quanto è bella questa fantasia e quanto è grande Gilels!!!!!
opera54
povepupe 3 years ago
less than halfway in, but this may be the best islamey i've heard.
slothvader 3 years ago
why amyparking and paulostroff99 was disputing? At the end I didin't understood (and I speak very few english, don't be angry with me by that)
The important, Gilels was AMAZING.
leonengard 3 years ago
truley amazing I would love to see this live
ChrisMono 3 years ago
Well... May be it's time to calm down a get back to the music ;)
Since I know Russian (at least it's my native language) let me put an end to this dispute.
1. Babushka (бабушка) is a normal way to address a grandmother. It's also used to address very old ladies.
2. "Baba" (баба) - sometimes used as "babushka" but usually by grandkids and with first name, f.e. "baba-masha". "Baba" is also a rude word to address a women.
3. Nested dolls (матрёшки/matrioshki) have never been called "babushki".
truecrypt 3 years ago
I had no idea!! No wonder!!
Many Americans don't like Richter for some reason?? Oh yeah, and one Belgian (haha)!
Lemonizm 3 years ago
That Belgium 's name is Marcel Mombeek..a complete idiot!!
abmsghost 3 years ago
Lovely playing! Bravo! TY.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
Nobody did Islamey like Julius Katchen. Apologies to Gilels and Horowitz both.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
It should be quite clear to everyone here that smithsherman is full of shit. His comments clearly resemble those of an idiotic numskull armchair critic in their complete lack of common sense. Anyhow, the wonderful sound Gilels gets from his instrument should be enough to classify this as one of the best recordings of Islamey available.
Belamus 3 years ago
Gilels is fine playing with a few clinkers; the rapid passages are mostly clean and as fast as Horowitz, but H sounds lighter, dancing and more elegant throughout. Gilels 8/10; Horowitz 9/10
nearenough3 3 years ago
there are many out there who decide after names,and fames,they dont really understand music.first-dont compare gilels with horowitz,second-there was nothing horowitz could do technically better on piano than gilels.this gilels was underrated,lived under the shadows of mr.horowitz.he was a great pianist...i just respect him.
paganviodio 3 years ago
paganviodio,
I think that most of what you wrote is correct, but the shadow that Emil Gilels lived under (and openly accepted as larger than his own - see Wikipedia) was that of the incomparable Sviatoslav Richter.
gerryrains 3 years ago
well,you know,this comparison...i watched ones a piano competition,30 guys played excellent but 20 had to still go.(im musician,i know what music is).horowitz,gilels,richter,those were all great pianists.why dont we just respect them and enjoy what they doing?just because one has a greater name than the other,he doesnt necessarily mean-for the musical aspect-more than the other....
paganviodio 3 years ago
paganviodio,
I think that we have a simple misunderstanding here. I was referring to the following, "One of Richter's first advocates in the West was Emil Gilels, who stated during his first tour of the United States that the critics (who were giving him (Gilels) rave reviews) should "wait until you hear Richter." (Wiki). It was not meant as an insult to Gilels whom I admire greatly. I never thought that he lived under the shadow of Horowitz and was merely clarifying his respect for Richter.
gerryrains 3 years ago
gerryrains-You are quite correct on this point.He certainly is alleged to have said this,and along with Richter,later referred to Sofranitsky as god of the piano.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
gerryrains-both Gilels and Richter called Sofranitsky the god of the piano. He loved their playing,and they worshiped his. There does not appear to be any animosity there,as there also was not with Lazar Berman
paulostroff99 3 years ago
SMITHSHERMAN: your infamy is universal! You have exposed the metronomic insanity of robotic piano playing; and for your meddling into the unconscious world of emotionless rigidity you will be sacrificed. Hire a body guard and stop eating blintzes.
4realrussiansonly 3 years ago
smithsherman-If you must eat blintzes,then please eat them with sour cream,and reserve the kasha for bow ties as the Jews call them,or farfale as the Italians call them. My facts are correct even though my spelling may not be.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
SAGAIAT: Don't worry about Captain Smithsherman. He is wanted dead or alive in Russia with a bounty on his glamourous head. And thank you "long live our free Motherland".
4realrussiansonly 3 years ago
Dear Yuri,I never wanted to be this popular!
smithsherman 3 years ago
Dear Smith,
I think that I can safely state that you aren't. :) Viva Richter! :)
Gerry
gerryrains 3 years ago
Singsingsing: Yes. for some pianists Gaspard de le nuit is more difficult. But the structure of every hand and fingers sometimes plays a critical role i.e. Rachmaninov considered Chopin's winter winds etude the most difficult and could not manage it, neither could his buddy Horowitz.
4realrussiansonly 4 years ago 6
yes you're right, of course. :]
singsinsing 4 years ago
re chopin 25, 11, i'm glad i'm not the only one.
slothvader 3 years ago
hum that's interesting! didn't know about the winter wind facts... i knew (if i'm not mistaken now) that horowitz didn't enjoy playing feux follets either, and it requires somewhat a similar technique as chopin's op.25 n.11 (not so similar, but with some resemblance to).
trms83br 3 years ago
Smithsherman aka Captain Sliver: maybe the middle section was a bit hasty but "highly elegant butchery" is a bit too harsh considering that the composition does not require sensitivity but rests solely on crisp virtuosity. But a nice slice of ham nevertheless!
4realrussiansonly 4 years ago
I, too, used to tell folks that I was 95 years of age but, like you, it was just so they'd say, "You look great!" Meanwhile, "Slavsya, Otechestvo nashe svobodnoye, Druzhby narodov nadyozhny oplot!"
sagalat 3 years ago
Sounds like it is a Moscow recording from March 03, 1950. Is that correct? Or is it a Florence recording from June 11, 1951?
robshelrobshel 4 years ago
I can't be 100% sure but seems like it's Moscow recording.
truecrypt 4 years ago
!.With every respect to my sage and philosoph
ic friend Yuri,I find this performance to be lacking a great deal.Sauer,Essipova,Cortot,
D'Albert,& Paderewski made structures like the opening 1 much much more interesting & fantastical.
smithsherman 4 years ago
2.The slow section misses many fine turns of phrase that denigrate it's fine elan.Fabulous pianism in lieu of Expressive focus,concept & interpretive execution.
smithsherman 4 years ago
3.I find that Gilels deletes much episodic expression in favor of Arte-Deco long lines.
It's a rarified Highly Elegant Butchery.
smithsherman 4 years ago
Cortot played Islamey ? Would you have the exact reference of the record? Thx by advance.
romotchka 3 years ago
Pianopera: Yes, of course, another legendary wine, just a different rare vintage.
4realrussiansonly 4 years ago
Gilels: magic that defies verbal description. Really unprecedented virtuosity that places Gilels on a level reserved only for legends like Liszt who, by the way, considered "Islamey" the most difficult composition written.
4realrussiansonly 4 years ago
Or legends like Horowitz...(listen to pirate recording 1953)
pianopera 4 years ago
Yes. THe Horowitz is one of the most phenomenal displays of pianism ever recorded.
mishima1974 3 years ago
Yes, and I find Horowitz' to be more lyrical, too. But be mindful of the perils of crossing Al-SmithSherman: Last time I did, he sent some of his goons to my house dressed as troubadors, and they hurled insults at me from the street all night long...Beware!
sagalat 3 years ago
Dear Stevie,You're confused.I sent you a delivery of Kasha and Blueberry Blintzes made by authentic Jewish Babushki.Nothing to Beware...it's entirely kosher! Regards,Hezekiah
smithsherman 3 years ago
smithsherman -He has left them uneaten awaiting the sour cream and bow ties.
P.S.-A Babushke is a type of Russian porcelain doll that keeps constantly covering the previous doll, as in one over the other.If we are to circumcise and convert you-you must first get to know these things.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
paulostroff90,
Grandma ("Babushke"), grandmother
Babushka-Wikipedia
Babushka is a Russian word meaning "grandmother," or more generally (but quite informally) "old lady." In recent years, the term has also come to indicate a strong, outspoken or opinionated woman of any age. In the English language the term may have the following meanings:
*A type of headscarf tied under the chin. "Babushka" is never used in Russia to mean "headscarf".
* Babushka lady
* Babushka doll
Gerry
gerryrains 3 years ago
geryrains-I have never heard a grandmother referred to as anything other than baba. It is possible that this may indeed be the short form of Babushka,but I never heard anyone refer to their baba as babushka.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
"I have never heard a grandmother referred to as anything other than baba" - this is an example of self assured ignorance if I've ever seen one. "Бабушка" means "grandmother" in modern Russian, full stop. The dolls you had in mind are called "Матрёшки", I thought it is common knowledge
amyparking 3 years ago
amyparking.Perhaps you should be called no parking.According to wikipedia-Babushka means (in usage)both an old woman, and rested or stacking dolls. Buba is simply what Russian or other Jews refer to their grand mothers as.This has no bearing on the term Babushka referring to an old lady,or a set of stacking or nested dolls In usage they are simply called Babushka dolls.Perhaps you should pack up your unwarranted sarcasm,and take it to wikipedia to see who it is that is ignorant.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
amyparking-in this story you clearly state that Babushka means grandmother in modern Russian.You have since changed your story.You now agree that it simply means an old lady depicted by several nested or stacking dolls.Please write someone else,as you are becoming a nuisance.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
what does this mean: ну куда, спрашивается, дальше после этого?
this is the phrase with which I qualified your quote, retard
amyparking 3 years ago 2
actually, this is what a 3 sec google search produced: "Technically, the correct Russian name for the dolls is Matryoshka. Inaccurate terminologies such as babushka dolls seem to have slowly seeped into the foreign vocabularies, unbeknownst to the Russian creators. Interestingly, babushka is the Russian word for grandmother and has little to do with matryoshkas. A possible connection, perhaps, rests on the generous nature of Russian babushkas, spoiling their grandchildren with toys..."
amyparking 3 years ago
asmyparking-I accept your more diplomatic tone and explanation of how this all came about. In my culture as in wikipedia-the nested or stacking dolls are called Babushka dolls.Wikipedia and not you are probably correct in the Russian meaning of Babushka as grandmother.If so,then they should be advised of this.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
right, answer this then
Я не понимаю о чем здесь спор, при том что вы начали его категорически отрицая что денотация слова по русски это "мать отца или матери". Этот факт можно прочесть на википедии как и в любом другом месте, тогда как "бабушка" в значении "кукла" осылает к статье о "Матрёшке".
"No,it simply means old lady. THE TERM HAS NEVER CHANGED.Babushka is and always has been an old lady,or a nested group of dolls all depicting an old lady" - ну куда, спрашивается, дальше после этого?
amyparking 3 years ago
amyparking-Is this not precisely what I said. Was it not you that insisted that it meant grand mother-which it does not! First I defend the possibilitry of you being right,and Babushka possibly referring to a grand mother-as you clearly stated,and now your version becomes-mysteriously -exact ly the same as mine. You are either a game player with little else to do nut annoy me,or one with very serious mental problems.If the latter,then you have my sympathy,but if the former-my contempt.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
what made you suppose that I support your bs? ваше несуществующее владение великим и могучим Русским языком?
can you translate what I've written?
amyparking 3 years ago
по поводу вашего стариковского каламбура насчет моего логина - это дурацкий каламбур состоящий из моего имени и вариации на мою фамилию (такую же как у создателя сериала "Южный Парк")
Удачи вам в нахождении переводчика - может так вам удастся притворится что вы владеете великим и могучим Русским языком
amyparking 3 years ago
amyparking.After re-reading all of our correspondence,it is my conclusion that you require help,and as quickly as possible.Your obvious contradictions make you a candidate for a loony bin, if ever one needed to be in one.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
А я то думала что знание языков - вещь хорошая, оказывается - пора в психушку
amyparking 3 years ago
you think that I contradict myself because you cannot read Russian. what did I just write in my latest reply? eh?
I honestly do have a feeling that I belong in a loony bin when someone tells me that the word everyone uses for "grandmother" in the country where I was born means smth else, and keeps telling me I contradict myself when I replied in perfectly lucid and coherent Russian
amyparking 3 years ago
amyparking-you are indeed very ill! You have my sympathies! Best wishes at whichever institution you end up in.
Shall I for whatever reason-start to answer you in French,Spanish,or German? Why should I expect a reply to be in Russian?
paulostroff99 3 years ago
because you claimed knowledge of this language, which you obviously don't have
I tried to show you that, but you saw only your quote, which I qualified with a phrase meaning smth along the lines of "where do we go from this (level of ignorance)?"
what do you base your claim on? I KNOW RUSSIAN, you don't
amyparking 3 years ago
again, I really feel like a nut job trying to tell someone that the word through which I referred to my grandmother as a child (as did EVERYONE AROUND ME to their respective grandmothers) means that and not smth else
Though the way you saw a large chunk of text in Cyrillic, didn't realize this is a test or presume that it might contain anything to disprove or qualify your little quote, gives me a sense I'm dealing with someone so thick s/he doesn't know which way to sit on the lavatory
amyparking 3 years ago
Where are all these negative orgones coming from? Hahahahahahahaaa
BTW..paulostroff99 самый тупоумный человек в Канада. Фактически, любое которое полагается на Wikipedia для данных по хорош, определением, тупоумным. Такая же вещь также применяется к людям которые используют двигатели электронного перевода.
violinbloke 3 years ago
LOL, not bad!
amyparking 3 years ago
dear retard - "to send up" as a transitive phrasal verb means "to expose the flaws or foibles of [obj] through parody, burlesque, caricature, lampoon, or other forms of satire". having trouble with English as well?
call me a nutter as much as you please, I wasn't the one committing all the hilarious blunders everyone reading this page can witness
amyparking 3 years ago
could you kids knock it off, please?
slothvader 3 years ago 2
gerryrains-No,it simply means old lady. THE TERM HAS NEVER CHANGED.Babushka is and always has been an old lady,or a nested group of dolls all depicting an old lady.Some things never change-this among them!It never meant headscarf,though the old woman always appears to be wearing one.
paulostroff99 3 years ago
I'd say Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit is harder than this one. but I'm not Liszt anyway :]
singsinsing 4 years ago 2
it is. ravel wrote the scarbo movement to top this. and it did.
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
...you do know that gaspard de la nuit has two other pieces as well?
singsinsing 3 years ago
yeah, ondine is the first, le gibet is the second, and scarbo is the third. but he admitted that he wrote it (scarbo) to be harder than islamey.
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
I knew that he composed gasprad to be harder than islamey, but it's a bit stupid to compare a sonata-like work (a triptych in english?) to a piece like this...
singsinsing 3 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Poor comment written by ignorance. Do you really think that a genius and a bright man like Ravel was silly enough to write gaspard "to be harder than islamey". He just wanted to show all the possibilities of a keyboard.
Second mistake by another user: Gaspard has nothing with the sonata form.
Read a fucking book of history of music...
adistar 3 years ago
Wait,hold the phone - when did I say Gaspard is in sonata form? I said it is stupid to compare the two, the other being a sonata like work. It is in three mvts(or poems if you prefer), so it's kind of stupid comparison. Picture yourself performing islamey and gaspard to jury, of course they're going to be harder on the gaspard because it's a larger work. Both of them are real masterpieces anyway.
singsinsing 3 years ago
Also, why couldn't Ravel think "I'm going to show the possibilities of a keuboard and make it harder than Balakirev's islamey"? Because that's exactly what he did: he showed the possibilities and made it harder, did he not?
singsinsing 3 years ago 6
I see no large difference between "To be harder than Islamey" and to "show all the possibilites of a keyboard". They are both true. Ravel really did say the quote, and he, in my opininon, of course, actually meant both.
Sinfoniette 3 years ago
I'm sorry for bringing this up and making a huge dispute about it. =/
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
I haven't played either of the 2 pieces, but IMO apart from length gaspard de la nuit seems much much easier than islamey. In what way do you feel it's more difficult?
pianoAndEngineering 3 years ago
to make gaspard de la nuit sound good, you have to have a very light touch, even in the fast crazy parts.
in islamey, i think your big obstacle is the repeated octaves/chords, which can be worked up faster than developing a light touch.
and i do like this piece better than gaspard, it's just i believe i could play this before i could play gaspard
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
The difficulties are very different, Islamey being highly physical,sportive:(not so many ageing players continue with it!),it's not musically complex. Gaspard,or specifically "Scarbo" is pianistically,harmonically,interpretively demanding in a much more subtle & complex way. I'd still back Islamey as more"difficult" simply cos few have accident-free performances(not that it's a gauge of a great performance!)whereas i've heard countless satisfying(and accident-free!)Gaspards(at all ages).
NOSEhow2LIV 3 years ago
Yeah, Islamey is harder unless you sell your soul to the devil to make your rapid octave/chord technique fast enough to play at correct tempo and not get carpal tunnel.
Okay, you don't have to sell your soul, but the point is that you'd have to practice a LOT on rapid octaves/chords.
However, Scarbo requires subtlety, lightness, and a great variety of tone and color. I don't think Islamey is banging, but it's much more straight forward than Scarbo. Arm mangling, but more straight forward.
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
However (ran out of character limit) this is just my opinion. I'm only a student, and I still have much to learn. As for now, I just sit back and enjoy Gilels' playing!
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
All three parts have been posted in three posts of various performers, some great, some good, some awful. If nothing else, Perlemuter's version is of historical interest. I like it a great deal.
gerryrains 3 years ago
I might agree with you if there were a better post on YT of Scarbo. The best seems to be the performance by Berezovsky and it just doesn't seem to compare to this six star performance of this incredibly difficult piece. However, Gilels' musicality trumps that of Berezovsky, making this an unfair comparison.
gerryrains 3 years ago
I just found a more fair comparison in my own collection. It really is too big to handle.:) From the superb CD, "Nojima Plays Ravel", Minoru Nojima plays Scarbo with a musicality and technical wizardry lacking in Berezovsky, Pogorelich, and Lisitsa. Nojima's performance of Scarbo doesn't trump this performance by Gilels, but it does equal it.
gerryrains 3 years ago
Hmm. I really enjoy Pogorelich's interpretation of the Gaspard de la Nuit suite. And that's only my personal taste and opinion. I like Emil Gilels as a pianist much more than Pogo anyway, and I love this piece too.
I was just saying in technical difficulty, I believe Scarbo is a little trickier than Islamey. Obviously Gilels is a better pianist.
OrangeSodaKing 3 years ago
There IS Michelangeli's gaspard, and also Casadesus'. Particularly Michelangeli's performance is breathtaking, in my opinion. They're not my exact favourites (Haas' and Gulda's are. Ashkenazy's audio recording truly is breath of fresh air), but they're both very good. Of Islamey, I'm not very fond of Gilels' interpretation it's too hevy for my taste. Whil it certainly is great and full of energy, but I prefer the grace and lightness of Arrau and Brendel:]
singsinsing 3 years ago 2