Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Ukrainian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Gilels was born to a Jewish family on 19 October 1916 (6 October, Old Style) in Odessa (then part of the Russian Empire, and now Ukraine) to Gesya and Grigory Gilels. His father worked as a clerk in a sugar refinery. His sister Elizaveta, three years his junior, was a renowned violinist. Gilels had perfect pitch, and at the age of five-and-a-half, he began lessons with Yakov Tkach , a famous piano pedagogue in Odessa. A quick learner, he was playing all three volumes of Loeschhorn's studies within a few months, and soon afterwards Clementi and Mozart sonatinas. Gilels later credited this strict training with Tkach for establishing the foundation of his technique. In turn, Tkach commented of Gilels, using a diminutive, "Milya Gilels possesses the abilities of one who is born solely for the purpose of becoming a pianist, and that with the required attention to his development, the USSR would in the future enrich itself with the acquisition of a world-renowned pianist." More information...
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