I love to watch this wonderful man play as the music courses through him. He really inspires me to cultivate more involvement with the music in my own playing (meaning less preoccupation with technical and memory issues ...). As I watch and hear this sublime artist, I feel the spirit of Brahms is truly with us--we are SO fortunate to have these performances forever preserved. Thank you again for posting!
Emil's playing shows once more, that piano sound can never be deep enough for such feelings. The return of the minor theme...it just hurts! Something special about his interpretation of this Ballade as well as piece itself. This is a gem.
Gilels was simply in a class by himself. His use of the pedal - giving profound weight to the phrase without muddying its contours - is unparalleled. Then, too, his judgment of tempo, dynamics, and his ability to reveal the polyphony of Brahms's score are just as miraculous. He was not just a virtuoso pianist but a supreme musician who happened to play piano, just Oistrakh was a musician whose medium happened to be the violin. I heard Gilels once, around 1974 or so and often wish that there had been more opportunities. What a gift he's left behind with his many recordings!
Hello, Pfau. Sadly, I seem to have been "stifled" from reponding 2 u from my main _Acoustic Rabbit Hole_ channel. I was agreeing with you about the thoughtful interpretations of Gilels. If my message from there doesn't ge thru, here is a restoration of Gilels playing the Bach Prelude in Bm--from the same concert! th-cam.com/video/Ly1MOvp2lAw/w-d-xo.html
This is one of the most deeply personal pieces written for the piano. Give the Michelangeli version a reflective listen. It's slower and allows you to really meditate and absorb what's going on.
For me this is the best interpretation I've heard yet. Eclipses Gould's somewhat surprisingly vague rendition. Rubinstein, who usually is a stellar Brahms interpreter projects a too laconic performance. Gilels seems to embody the inner most pathos of the piece. Hard pressed to think of someone else except maybe Schiff, who might have given a more subtle playing. A very personal Brahms gem, always puts one in a meditational quiet spot.
+Carlos Rodríguez It is lovely, isn't it? However, that said, for me the performance sounds limpid, sentimental and is played a bit too slow, sounding more like a funeral march. It is overly sad and defeatist for me. I went looking for a recording of this piece by Radu Lupu and I cannot find one just now in TH-cam land. Lupu has become one of my favorite Brahmsians. I will share something with you that I just found: etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04102014-022944/unrestricted/BrahmsThesis.pdf Enjoy!
+Carlos Rodríguez The Michelangeli is really beautiful, but somehow he misses the contrapuntal nature of Brahms's music, which Gilels renders fabulously! The Michelangeli interpretation is mainly about the piano and.... Michelangeli! The Gilels is entirely about Brahms. I prefer the DG studio recording of Gilels even better than this live performance.
Brahms is all about patience and building up a structure. Not everybody can understand or appreciate it.. I myself was assigned the Op 10 No 1 and it didn't speak to me for months and I've picked it up now again and realized that there was much more to it than I initially saw. Do you play the piano? If so, have you played any Brahms at all? You really need to play it to understand all the nuances completely.
this is not the same kind of ballade as chopin, it is more profoundly teutonic, more intrinsically spare. people coming to this with expectations will be turned away, for young brahms was aiming here to tell a story of the heart and soul, not express some romantic ideals. a composer among the most misunderstood in music. gilels is such a natural here.
exquisite and spellbinding this live performance knocks all others in the shade, in my opinion, including Gilels' own DG studio recording and Michelangeli and everyone else that comes to mind
It was an amazing concert. I think, 1964. I restored the audio and video to his Bach B-minor Prelude performance from this same concert. Come see! - _The Acoustic Rabbit Hole_
grande davvero ! "...quando l'interprete ascolta il proprio strumento (da 1'35'')...con trasporto... eleva la musica ad evento... in corale unione col pubblico e segna la via..."(Silvano G. Bernasconi, pianista e compositore)
@newFranzFerencLiszt tss disagree.this is epic!!!...music of brahms is so specific!!! only true musicians,pianists of great age can play it so well like gilels,its sweet!
I have never seen the score, but I do know that Gilels is always very faithful. Unfortunately, I much prefer Michalengeli's recording, even though I don't know how accurate it actually is.
I don't agree. It is not humility and one should not stop performing or playing because there is someone better or someone sublime. It is like if a composer said why keep composing if I will never reach Mozart or Bach? Great artists such as Gilels serve as true inspiration and many times as models, but that should not stop us from playing, studying and enjoying. Too much competition and pride there is in the world.
I totally agree with the first love thing, somehow it's particularly strong with this piece. Precisely the Gilels recording was my first love, got so used to it that when i heard Glenn Gould's recording i hated it, i found it annoying and out of place... ;)
5 minutes into this piece I don't even know what Brahm's melody is. The piece is absolutely not at the level of Chopin's ballades. The piece sounds rather hazy and without direction. No wonder it isn't well known. Even Gilels may have played it with too much feeling.
@@Santosificationable This is a wonderful piece. As for comparing Chopin Ballades to those of Brahms, it is not a matter of whose Ballades are better. You really can't compare them with that criteria. You are essentially comparing apples to oranges. This is my favourite Ballade of Brahms.
Omg.....this is just perfect. His voicing and sound..absolutely out of this world.
I love to watch this wonderful man play as the music courses through him. He really inspires me to cultivate more involvement with the music in my own playing (meaning less preoccupation with technical and memory issues ...). As I watch and hear this sublime artist, I feel the spirit of Brahms is truly with us--we are SO fortunate to have these performances forever preserved. Thank you again for posting!
It's wonderful to appreciate the stark contrast between the performances of Michelangeli, Gould and Gilels.
He plays always with beautiful interpretation whether it is Beethoven or Schuman, He is a joy to listen it touches ones soul.
Emil's playing shows once more, that piano sound can never be deep enough for such feelings. The return of the minor theme...it just hurts! Something special about his interpretation of this Ballade as well as piece itself. This is a gem.
Breathtaking. His sound is just gorgeous
Beautiful legato..Emil was d supreme artiste, Richter too!
Gilels was simply in a class by himself. His use of the pedal - giving profound weight to the phrase without muddying its contours - is unparalleled. Then, too, his judgment of tempo, dynamics, and his ability to reveal the polyphony of Brahms's score are just as miraculous. He was not just a virtuoso pianist but a supreme musician who happened to play piano, just Oistrakh was a musician whose medium happened to be the violin. I heard Gilels once, around 1974 or so and often wish that there had been more opportunities. What a gift he's left behind with his many recordings!
The Gilel's doing Bach B-minor prelude. th-cam.com/video/glpnysLXWrU/w-d-xo.html
Hello, Pfau. Sadly, I seem to have been "stifled" from reponding 2 u from my main _Acoustic Rabbit Hole_ channel.
I was agreeing with you about the thoughtful interpretations of Gilels. If my message from there doesn't ge thru, here is a restoration of Gilels playing the Bach Prelude in Bm--from the same concert! th-cam.com/video/Ly1MOvp2lAw/w-d-xo.html
Wow - just discovered this piece. Sublime!!!
This is one of the most deeply personal pieces written for the piano. Give the Michelangeli version a reflective listen. It's slower and allows you to really meditate and absorb what's going on.
Bellissima ballata ed esecuzione emozionante
sublime! c'est bien la conclusion de l'opus 10.
For me this is the best interpretation I've heard yet. Eclipses Gould's somewhat surprisingly vague rendition. Rubinstein, who usually is a stellar Brahms interpreter projects a too laconic performance. Gilels seems to embody the inner most pathos of the piece. Hard pressed to think of someone else except maybe Schiff, who might have given a more subtle playing. A very personal Brahms gem, always puts one in a meditational quiet spot.
+fred houpt What about Michelangeli's?
+Carlos Rodríguez It is lovely, isn't it? However, that said, for me the performance sounds limpid, sentimental and is played a bit too slow, sounding more like a funeral march. It is overly sad and defeatist for me. I went looking for a recording of this piece by Radu Lupu and I cannot find one just now in TH-cam land. Lupu has become one of my favorite Brahmsians. I will share something with you that I just found:
etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04102014-022944/unrestricted/BrahmsThesis.pdf
Enjoy!
+Carlos Rodríguez The Michelangeli is really beautiful, but somehow he misses the contrapuntal nature of Brahms's music, which Gilels renders fabulously! The Michelangeli interpretation is mainly about the piano and.... Michelangeli! The Gilels is entirely about Brahms. I prefer the DG studio recording of Gilels even better than this live performance.
Brahms is perfection since Op.1, please, a bit of respect!
Kak zamechatel´no´prosto,yasno...
Maestro!!!
I love this!
Brahms is all about patience and building up a structure. Not everybody can understand or appreciate it.. I myself was assigned the Op 10 No 1 and it didn't speak to me for months and I've picked it up now again and realized that there was much more to it than I initially saw. Do you play the piano? If so, have you played any Brahms at all? You really need to play it to understand all the nuances completely.
this is not the same kind of ballade as chopin, it is more profoundly teutonic, more intrinsically spare. people coming to this with expectations will be turned away, for young brahms was aiming here to tell a story of the heart and soul, not express some romantic ideals. a composer among the most misunderstood in music. gilels is such a natural here.
Yes, compared to Chopin Brahms' music sounds simpler yet more earnest. Kind of like a candle that never dissipates despite being small.
exquisite and spellbinding
this live performance knocks all others in the shade, in my opinion, including Gilels' own DG studio recording and Michelangeli and everyone else that comes to mind
It was an amazing concert. I think, 1964. I restored the audio and video to his Bach B-minor Prelude performance from this same concert. Come see!
- _The Acoustic Rabbit Hole_
grande davvero !
"...quando l'interprete ascolta il proprio strumento (da 1'35'')...con trasporto... eleva la musica ad evento... in corale unione col pubblico e segna la via..."(Silvano G. Bernasconi, pianista e compositore)
@newFranzFerencLiszt tss disagree.this is epic!!!...music of brahms is so specific!!! only true musicians,pianists of great age can play it so well like gilels,its sweet!
I have never seen the score, but I do know that Gilels is always very faithful. Unfortunately, I much prefer Michalengeli's recording, even though I don't know how accurate it actually is.
I don't agree. It is not humility and one should not stop performing or playing because there is someone better or someone sublime. It is like if a composer said why keep composing if I will never reach Mozart or Bach?
Great artists such as Gilels serve as true inspiration and many times as models, but that should not stop us from playing, studying and enjoying. Too much competition and pride there is in the world.
@micheldvorsky yes, and better than most other pianists too...
I prefer great Wilhelm Kempff recording...but this is magnificiant too..
I totally agree with the first love thing, somehow it's particularly strong with this piece. Precisely the Gilels recording was my first love, got so used to it that when i heard Glenn Gould's recording i hated it, i found it annoying and out of place... ;)
Are you for real?
God. Gilels plays these so much better than Michelangeli.
@kempff95 я думаю что вы не понимаете то что говарите
"5 minutes into this piece" ?
You do not know what you are talking about. Better to remain silent.
Zu schnell
5 minutes into this piece I don't even know what Brahm's melody is. The piece is absolutely not at the level of Chopin's ballades. The piece sounds rather hazy and without direction. No wonder it isn't well known. Even Gilels may have played it with too much feeling.
do u have a music background? your comment is quite astounding...sadly
Complexity does not mean better! This ballade is equally good to Chopin's if not better.
@@Santosificationable This is a wonderful piece. As for comparing Chopin Ballades to those of Brahms, it is not a matter of whose Ballades are better. You really can't compare them with that criteria. You are essentially comparing apples to oranges. This is my favourite Ballade of Brahms.