You can tell how much he loves Brahms...he is listening so intently to the sound it is as if there are two people--one to play it so amazingly and the other who is savoring the sound and absorbing it into his very soul.
This is the interpretation of Brahms ballades that speaks to the listener. All the others including Katchen are too meek and dreamy. From the beginning Gilels takes us into the music. He has the energy and the clarity. Each piece has the urgency and drama that Brahms looked for.
I agree about Gilels but disagree about the rest of the recordings 😂 I think there are some amazing ones out there, not least of which is Michelangeli's
Gilels plays very personal Brahms, so as it should sound, at the same expressive intesity as Clenn Gould plays and even more expressive here and there. This interpretation of Gilels has a human warmth which is a little missing by Glenn Gould. Both of them are nevertheless fantastic.
Magique l'interprétation de cette magnifique 4ème ballade avec ses ostinatos de triolets nous ressuscitent le meilleur des sonates de Schubert, l'agitato médian rappelle davantage Schumann.
