Beyond being the 90th anniversary of his birth in 2006, there seemed no other reason for Deutsche Grammophon to release so many splendid collections of recordings by
Emil Gilels, the Soviet titan of the keyboard. It's reason enough. Following a two-disc set of
Gilels' early recordings and a nine-disc set of his Beethoven sonatas, DG released this two-disc set of
Gilels' Mozart recordings and it is a wonderful addition. The first disc here contains a live recording of a 1970 solo recital in the Mozarteum Salzburg, while the second features a combination of 1973 recordings of the B flat major Concerto with
Karl Böhm and the double Concerto in E flat major with his daughter Elena.
Gilels' solo recital is stunning. The elegant phrasing and supple power of his B flat major Sonata are supremely graceful. Even better are the expressive depths of his D minor Fantasia. But best of all is the lyrical tragedy of his A minor Sonata. Amazingly,
Gilels' concerto recordings are in some ways better yet. With
Böhm and the
Wiener Philharmoniker,
Gilels has partners who support and challenge him and the result is a marvelous cooperative performance. With his daughter Elena,
Gilels has a partner he supports and challenges and the result is an affectionate collaboration. As old-time listeners remember from their first release on LPs, these stereo recordings were virtually transparent with just a hint of audience noise.