What is sympathetic and parasympathetic tone?

Pianists: What is special about the Gilels 'tone'?

• Seldom is Emil Gilels discussed without mention of his legendary 'burnished tone'. Having heard several works performed by both Gilels and other great pianists, I do not see (hear) what makes his tone better than that of others. In fact, I usually find his friend Richter to have superior tone. Is there anything in particular I should be listening for, or any particular recordings where his 'special' tone is particularly evident?

• Answer:

  I am a huge fan of both Gilels and Richter and have a decent collection of each pianist's recordings. Alas, I never had the opportunity to hear either play live. I think part of the difficulty in truly evaluating tone through recordings is the amount of information lost in recording and reproduction. Tone is partially, if not largely, dictated by the presence or absence of harmonics, and specific frequencies are inevitably axed by the recording and reproduction process. That being said, I feel Gilels's tone is usually richer and warmer than many pianists'. As far as more accessible recordings go, his DG appassionata is--in my mind--phenomenal. The sounds he generates with the fast chords in the Presto of the third movement always seemed rather remarkable. I think Perahia's tone is decent. I think Rubenstein was able to produce the widest variation in tones of any pianist; Michelangeli is a close second. Then again, maybe you're just right about Richter versus Gilels. Tone is subjective, after all, and maybe Richter just has the best tone of all.