Album

Every man's death diminishes us all, but the death of a man so close to completing his greatest achievement and the summation of his life's work diminishes us all greatly—very, very greatly. When Emil Gilels died in 1985, he had completed recordings of most but not all of Beethoven'spiano sonatas, released here in a nine-disc set. What's here is unimaginably good: superlative recordings of 27 of the 32 canonical sonatas, including the "Pathétique," "Moonlight," "Waldstein," "Appassionata," "Les Adieux," and the majestic "Hammerklavier," plus the two early "Electoral" Sonatas and the mighty Eroica Variations. What's missing is unimaginably priceless: five of the canonical sonatas, including the first and—horror vacui—the last. But still, for what there is, we must be grateful. Beyond all argument one of the great pianists of the twentieth century, Gilels the Soviet super virtuoso had slowly mellowed and ripened over his long career, and when he began recording the sonatas in 1972, his interpretations had matured and deepened while his superlative technique remained gloriously intact straight through to the last recordings of his final year. In performance after performance, one marvels at Gilels' virtuosity, his expressivity, and his sheer joy in music-making. But most of all, it is through the intensity of Gilels' interpretations, in the way he finds the depths of the Largos and reaches the heights of the Allegro vivaces, in the way he seems to so thoroughly understand and completely identify with Beethoven's music, that we understand it in a new and better way ourselves. While obviously not the only Beethoven piano sonata set one should have on the shelf, any Beethoven collection without Gilels is a poorer Beethoven collection. From high stereo to early digital, Deutsche Grammophon's sound is consistently translucent.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.2 in A, Op.2, No.2 Work Recorded 1984 25:45 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Allegro vivace	7:08			$1.49
2	2.Largo appassionato	7:37			$1.49
3	3.Scherzo: Allegretto	3:29			$0.99
4	4.Rondo: Grazioso	7:31			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.3 in C, Op.2, No.3 Work Recorded 1981 27:31 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
5	1.Allegro con brio	10:09			$1.99
6	2.Adagio	8:50			$1.49
7	3.Scherzo: Allegro	3:00			$0.99
8	4.Finale: Allegro assai	5:32			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 3 Piano Sonatas, WoO47 ('Electoral')...Sonata in Eb, WoO47, No.1 Work Recorded 1985 10:46 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
9	1.Allegro cantabile	4:01			$0.99
10	2.Andante	3:58			$0.99
11	3.Rondo vivace	2:47			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 3 Piano Sonatas, WoO47 ('Electoral')...Piano Sonata in F-, WoO 47, No.2 Work Recorded 1985 15:18 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
12	1.Larghetto maestoso. Allegro assai	5:03			$0.99
13	2.Andante	6:39			$0.99
14	3.Presto	3:36			$0.99
CD 2 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.4 in Eb ('Grand Sonata'), Op.7 Work Recorded 1984 32:37 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Allegro molto e con brio	8:49			$1.49
2	2.Largo con gran espressione	9:59			$1.49
3	3.Allegro	5:51			$0.99
4	4.Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso	7:58			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.8 in C-, Op.13 ('Pathétique') Work Recorded 1980 20:00 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
5	1.Grave. Allegro di molto e con brio	9:11			$1.49
6	2.Adagio cantabile	5:46			$0.99
7	3.Rondo: Allegro	5:03			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.10 in G, Op.14, No.2 Work Recorded 1985 19:57 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
8	1.Allegro	8:06			$1.49
9	2.Andante	8:05			$1.49
10	3.Scherzo: Allegro assai	3:46			$0.99
CD 3 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.5 in C-, Op.10, No.1 Work Recorded 1985 23:43 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Allegro molto e con brio	7:01			$1.49
2	2.Adagio molto	11:45			$1.99
3	3.Finale: Prestissimo	4:57			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.6 in F, Op.10, No.2 Work Recorded 1973 18:11 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
4	1.Allegro	8:54			$1.49
5	2.Allegretto	5:25			$0.99
6	3.Presto	3:52			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.7 in D, Op.10, No.3 Work Recorded 1980 24:50 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
7	1.Presto	6:58			$0.99
8	2.Largo e mesto	10:49			$1.99
9	3.Menuetto: Allegro	2:49			$0.99
10	4.Rondo: Allegro	4:14			$0.99
CD 4 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.11 in Bb, Op.22 Work Recorded 1985 30:34 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Allegro con brio	8:08			$1.49
2	2.Adagio con molto espressione	11:18			$1.99
3	3.Menuetto: Minore	3:48			$0.99
4	4.Rondo: Allegretto	7:20			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.12 in Ab, Op.26 ('Funeral March') Work Recorded 1975 20:15 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
5	1.Andante con variazioni	8:37			$1.49
6	2.Scherzo and Trio: Allegro molto	2:50			$0.99
7	3.Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un eroe	6:22			$0.99
8	4.Rondo: Allegro	2:26			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer 15 Variations and Fugue in Eb on an Original Theme ('Eroica Variations'), Op.35 Work Recorded 1980 24:08 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
9	Introduzione col Basso del Tema: Allegretto vivace	3:00			$0.99
10	Tema: Allegretto vivace	0:42			$0.49
11	Variation 1	0:37			$0.49
12	Variation 2	0:51			$0.49
13	Variation 3	0:39			$0.49
14	Variation 4	0:32			$0.49
15	Variation 5	0:52			$0.49
16	Variation 6	0:32			$0.49
17	Variation 7: Canone all'ottava	0:38			$0.49
18	Variation 8	1:01			$0.49
19	Variation 9	0:39			$0.49
20	Variation 10	0:37			$0.49
21	Variation 11	0:44			$0.49
22	Variation 12	0:40			$0.49
23	Variation 13	0:44			$0.49
24	Variation 14: Minore	1:43			$0.49
25	Variation 15: Maggiore. Largo	3:42			$0.99
26	Coda	1:12			$0.49
27	Finale: Alla Fuga. Allegro con brio. Andante con moto	4:43			$0.99
CD 5 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.13 in Eb, Op.27, No.1 ('Quasi una fantasia') Work Recorded 1980 16:15 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Andante. Allegro	5:50			$0.99
2	2.Allegro molto e vivace	1:40			$0.49
3	3.Adagio con espressione	3:11			$0.99
4	4.Allegro vivace	5:34			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.14 in C#-, Op.27, No.2 ('Moonlight') Work Recorded 1980 15:46 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
5	1.Adagio sostenuto	6:06			$0.99
6	2.Allegretto	2:32			$0.99
7	3.Presto agitato	7:08			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.15 in D, Op.28 ('Pastoral') Work Recorded 1982 29:00 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
8	1.Allegro	12:11			$1.99
9	2.Andante	8:38			$1.49
10	3.Scherzo: Allegro vivace	2:20			$0.99
11	4.Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo	5:51			$0.99
CD 6 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.16 in G, Op.31, No.1 Work Recorded 1975 24:35 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Allegro vivace	6:45			$0.99
2	2.Adagio grazioso	11:07			$1.99
3	3.Rondo: Allegretto	6:43			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.17 in D-, Op.31, No.2 ('Tempest') Work Recorded 1981 26:08 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
4	1.Largo. Allegro	9:20			$1.49
5	2.Adagio	9:23			$1.49
6	3.Allegretto	7:25			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.18 in Eb, Op.31, No.3 ('The Hunt') Work Recorded 1981 23:35 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
7	1.Allegro	9:04			$1.49
8	2.Scherzo: Allegro vivace	5:16			$0.99
9	3.Menuetto: Moderato e grazioso	4:54			$0.99
10	4.Presto con fuoco	4:21			$0.99
CD 7 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.19 in G-, Op.49, No.1 Work Recorded 1982 9:32 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Andante	6:01			$0.99
2	2.Rondo: Allegro	3:31			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.20 in G, Op.49, No.2 Work Recorded 1984 8:50 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
3	1.Allegro ma non troppo	5:02			$0.99
4	2.Tempo di menuetto	3:48			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.21 in C, Op.53 ('Waldstein') Work Recorded 1972 25:01 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
5	1.Allegro con brio	11:04			$1.99
6	2.Introduzione: Molto adagio	4:38			$0.99
7	3.Rondo: Allegro moderato	9:19			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.23 in F-, Op.57 ('Appassionata') Work Recorded 1973 25:28 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
8	1.Allegro assai	11:07			$1.99
9	2.Andante con moto (attaca)	6:29			$0.99
10	3.Allegro ma non troppo	7:52			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.25 in G, Op.79 ('Cuckoo') Work Recorded 1974 10:11 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
11	1.Presto alla tedesca	4:48			$0.99
12	2.Andante	3:37			$0.99
13	3.Vivace	1:46			$0.49
CD 8 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.26 in Eb, Op.81a ('Les Adieux') Work Recorded 1974 17:22 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Adagio. Allegro ('Les Adieux')	7:20			$1.49
2	2.Andante espressivo ('L'Absence')	4:02			$0.99
3	3.Vivacissimamente ('Le Retour')	6:00			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.27 in E-, Op.90 Work 13:57 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
4	1.Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchhaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck	5:40			$0.99
5	2.Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorzutragen	8:17			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.30 in E, Op.109 Work Recorded 1985 20:58 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
6	1.Vivace, ma non troppo	4:08			$0.99
7	2.Prestissimo	2:39			$0.99
8	3a.Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo: Theme	2:32			$0.99
9	3b.Variation 1: Molto espressivo	2:02			$0.99
10	3c.Variation 2: Leggiermente	1:42			$0.49
11	3d.Variation 3: Allegro vivace	0:29			$0.49
12	3e.Variation 4. Etwas langsamer als das Thema (Un poco meno andante ciò è un poco più adagio come il)	2:30			$0.99
13	3f.Variation 5: Allegro, ma non troppo	1:03			$0.49
14	3g.Variation 6: Tempo 1 del tema. Cantabile	3:53			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.31 in Ab, Op.110 Work Recorded 1985 22:05 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
15	1.Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo	7:30			$1.49
16	2.Allegro molto	2:20			$0.99
17	3.Adagio ma non troppo: Arioso dolente	12:15			$1.99
CD 9 of 9
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.28 in A, Op.101 Work Recorded 1972 21:30 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
1	1.Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung (Allegretto ma non troppo)	4:18			$0.99
2	2.Lebhaft, marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia)	6:14			$0.99
3	3.Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto)	3:27			$0.99
4	4.Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit (Allegro)	7:31			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.29 in Bb, Op.106 ('Hammerklavier') Work Recorded 1982 48:46 Emil Grigoryevich Gilels Piano
5	1.Allegro	12:24			$1.99
6	2.Scherzo: Assai vivace	2:53			$0.99
7	3.Adagio sostenuto	19:51			$3.49
8	4.Largo. Allegro risoluto	13:38			$2.49