Any Gilels record is an event of the first magnitude," wrote Gramophone when these Tchaikovsky recordings originally appeared in 1973. In it's words the Odessa-born pianist, "a stupendous lion of the keyboard", offered "artistry of the highest integrity." His insights in the much-loved Piano Concerto No 1 "evoked all the immediacy of a new discovery... The bravura is stirring, the lyricism melting [and] the over-riding impression is of playing of exciting authority and character... Maazel ensures that no detail of Tchaikovsky's lovely scoring is lost.
