Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, "Emperor" / Overtures
1/1/2005, 5 Tracks, 55:02
Featuring
Günter Wand
Emil Gilels
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln
Ludwig van Beethoven
Did you know?
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Performer Biography
Emil Gilels, the pianist, was a child prodigy, playing the piano at the age of six and winning first prize at the Moscow Piano Competition in 1933.
Recording & Production
This album is part of a posthumous Günter Wand Edition, aiming to document his radio recordings and present aspects of his musical activity not covered by his lifetime commercial releases.
Performer Biography
Günter Wand, the conductor, began his career at age twenty, learning his craft "from the ground up" as a rehearsal pianist and then as an operetta and opera conductor.
Interpretation
Conductor Günter Wand consistently pursued fidelity to the original scores, freeing Beethoven's music from falsifications that had accumulated in performance practice since the mid-19th century.
Performer Biography
Emil Gilels, the pianist, was the first major Soviet artist to perform in the USA in 1955, after gaining international attention outside the USSR in 1947.
Performer Biography
Günter Wand, the conductor, was instrumental in bringing back "degenerate music" banned by the Nazis to Germany and championed young composers with numerous premieres.
Performer Biography
Emil Gilels, the pianist, abhorred virtuoso showmanship, focusing instead on extreme accuracy, clarity, and deeply emotional musicality in his interpretations.
