. . . a colossal recital . . . [Beethoven]: the opening 1803 "Waldstein
Sonata" reveals a virtuoso pianist in smart music. The Gilels sonority
in "ostinato" energy, runs, and trills penetrates deeply, and his
capacity for liquid velocity seems limitless . . . [Chopin / Variations
on "Là ci darem" from Mozart's "Don Giovanni"]: We might concur with
Robert Schumann, who, in speaking of Chopin, proclaimed, "Hats off,
gentlemen, a Genius!" and so say of Emil Gilels . . . [Prokofiev]: From
the 1915-17 group of "Visions fugitives" Gilels proffers six, each
vignette in color and dynamics, close to the terse spirit of Scriabin.
Nos 1, 3, and 5 each sparkle with an ethereal impressionism. The
accented dissonances of No. 11 always attract Gilels, who favors this
study in contrary-motion scale patterns. No. 10 provides a jumpy etude
marked "Ridicolosamente". The last, "Poetico", conveys an elusive veil
of notes. Quite a transition in color and dynamics as we enter Debussy's
rarified world, liquefied and sensuous in "Reflets dans l'eau" . . .
[in the Siloti arrangement of Bach's b minor Prelude, the] lovely
gradations of color and inflection add that sense of eternity of which
the great pianists own the patent.