Eliso Virsaladze

ELISO VIRSALADZE (b 1942)
Georgian pianist

Eliso Virsaladze plays with unhurried grace and charm. Her Mozart and Schubert are of exceptional beauty. Her Schumann is gorgeous - Sviatoslav Ricther is said to have loved her Schumann - and her Brahms stunning. She has exquisite control and a warm, luscious tone.

Her teacher was her grandmother, Anastasia Virsaladze, herself a pupil of Anna Yesipova and a prominent pianist and highly respected piano teacher in Tbilisi. At the age of 19, as the story goes, Anastasia phoned Yakov Zak to ask a favor. Would he allow Eliso to audition for him? The audition led to Eliso's participation in the 1962 Tchaikovsky competition where she won third prize. Two pianists shared first prize that year: Vladimir Ashkenazy and John Ogdon. Eliso Virsaladze received irregular instruction from Yakov Zak and Heinrich Neuhaus, and won the first prize in the Schumann Competition in 1966.

Eliso Virsaladze has taught piano at the Moscow Conservatory since 1967 and was nominated professor in 1994. Since 1995, she has also taught at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich. Among her many well known students are Boris Berezovsky and Ekaterina Voskresenskaya.

I would single out one performance on this page, not because it is particularly better than the others, they are all fabulous, but because it is of a fairly large scale work by Chopin that I have, until hearing Eliso Virsaladze play it, never fully appreciated. I speak of the Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op 61. I listened to innumerable performances of this piece over the last fifty years, but never has anyone offered me one that made of this complex and seemingly disjointed work the intensely passionate dramatic expression that I now see that it is.

Eliso Virsaladze is a brightly burning star in the pianistic firmament, the equal of any, and the better of most.

Follow the link Virsaladze plays Concerti to hear her numerous recorded performances with orchestra.

Virsaladze plays Bach and Schumann in Concert

Bach, J.S. The Well-Tempered Clavier Book I

Prelude & Fugue 1 in C major (BWV 846)
Prelude & Fugue 2 in C minor (BWV 847)
Prelude & Fugue 3 in C♯ major (BWV 848)
Prelude & Fugue 4 in C♯ minor (BWV 849)
Prelude & Fugue No. 5 in D major (BWV 850)
Prelude & Fugue No. 6 in D minor (BWV 851)
Prelude & Fugue No. 7 in E♭ Major (BWV 852)
Prelude & Fugue No. 8 in E♭ Minor (BWV 853)

Schumann Carnaval, Op.9

recorded live at the moscow Conservatory in 2011

00:56 ➢ Haydn Piano Concerto in D major (Hob XVIII:11)
ii Un poco adagio
09:08 ➢ Mozart Rondo in A minor, K 511
19:19 ➢ Shostakovich Prelude & Fugue in D♭ major, Op 87~15
24:32 ➢ Schumann Carnaval, Op 9

recorded live in 1975

Mozart from Piano Sonata 8 in A major, K 310

i Allegro maestoso

ii Andante cantabile con espressione

iii Presto

Mozart Piano Sonata 10 in C major, K 330
i Allegro moderato
06:02 ➢ ii Andante cantabile
11:04 ➢ iii Allegretto

Mozart from Piano Sonata 11 in A major, K 331
iii Rondo Alla Turca: Allegretto

Mozart Piano Sonata 12 in C major, K 332
i Allegro
04:41 ➢ ii Adagio
09:07 ➢ iii Allegro assai

recorded in 2013

Eliso Virsaladze plays Mozart and Prokofiev in concert

05:10 ➢ Mozart Fantasy in C minor, K 475

Mozart Piano Sonata 14 in C minor, K 457
17:05 ➢ i Allegro
23:08 ➢ ii Adagio
30:53 ➢ iii Molto allegro

Prokofiev Piano Sonata 2 in D minor, Op 14 (1912)
35:33 ➢ i Allegro ma non troppo
41:43 ➢ ii Scherzo: Allegro marcato
43:34 ➢ iii Andante
48:45 ➢ iv Vivace

filmed live on 12.21.2011

Schubert Impromptus, D 935, Op posth 142

1 Allegro moderato in F minor
9:56 ➢ 2 Allegretto in A♭ major
16:50 ➢ 3 Andante con variazioni in B♭ major
27:14 ➢ 4 Allegro scherzando in F minor

recorded live in 1995

Eliso Virsaladze plays Schubert in concert

Adagio in E major, D 612
04:37 ➢ Zwolf Grazer Walzer, D 924

Piano Sonata in A major, D 664
14:22 ➢ i Allegro Moderato
25:55 ➢ ii Andante
30:28 ➢ iii Allegro

38:04 ➢ Allegretto in C minor, D 915

Drei Klavierstucke, D 946
44:19 ➢ 1 Allegro Assai
56:30 ➢ 2 Allegretto
1:08:05 ➢ 3 Allegro

recorded live in 1997

Schubert-Liszt "Der Erlkönig"

recorded live in London

Chopin Recital

09:12 ➢ Polonaise-Fantaisie op.61

22:12 ➢ Piano Sonata 3 in B minor, Op 58
i Allegro maestoso - ii Scherzo: Molto vivace - iii Largo - iv Finale: Presto non tanto. Agitato

1:00:31 ➢ Scherzo 3, Op 39
1:08:22 ➢ Etude in C♯ minor, Op 25~7
1:13:48 ➢ Ballade 2 in F major, Op 38
1:21:11 ➢ Nocturne 14 in F♯ minor, Op 48~2
1:28:28 ➢ Ballade 3 in A♭ major, Op 47
1:35:50 ➢ Polonaise 6 in A♭ major, Op 53
1:44:07 ➢ Nocturne 2 in E♭ major Op 9~2

recorded live in 2010

Chopin 24 Études,

12 Études, Op 10

1 in C major
02:10 ➢ 2 in A minor
03:38 ➢ 3 in E major
08:20 ➢ 4 in C♯ minor
10:22 ➢ 5 in G♭ major
11:59 ➢ 6 in E♭ minor
15:54 ➢ 7 in C major
17:24 ➢ 8 in F major
19:46 ➢ 9 in F minor
21:47 ➢ 10 in A♭ major
23:57 ➢ 11 in E♭ major
26:23 ➢ 12 in C minor

12 Études, Op. 25

28:55 ➢ 1 in A♭ major
31:19 ➢ 2 in F minor
32:54 ➢ 3 in F major
34:42 ➢ 4 in A minor
36:16 ➢ 5 in E minor
39:33 ➢ 6 in G♯ minor
41:37 ➢ 7 in C♯ minor
47:26 ➢ 8 in D♭ major
48:34 ➢ 9 in G♭ major
49:36 ➢ 10 in B minor
53:48 ➢ 11 in A minor
57:32 ➢ 12 in C minor

recorded in the early 1970s

Chopin Nocturne 8 in D♭ major, Op 27~2

Chopin Waltzes

2 in A♭ major, Op 34~1
recorded live in 2011

9 in A-flat major, Op 69~1

Chopin Mazurkas

in C♯ minor, Op 30~4
3:36 ➢ in D major, Op 33~2

in A Minor, Op 68~2
recorded live in 2011

Schumann Novellette 8 in F♯ minor, Op 21~8
first part only

Schumann from Fantasie in C major, Op 17

Im Legendenton
from i Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen; Im Legenden-Ton

Erstes Tempo from
i Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen; Im Legenden-Ton

ii Mäßig. Durchaus energisch

Eliso Virsaladze plays Schumann in concert I

Piano Sonata 1 in F♯ minor, Op 11
i Introduzione: Un poco Adagio - Allegro vivace
12:20 ➢ ii Aria
15:54 ➢ iii Scherzo: Allegrissimo - intermezzo: Lento
20:11 ➢ iv Finale: Allegro, un poco maestoso

Piano Sonata 2 in G minor, Op 22
31:23 ➢ i So rasch wie möglich. schneller. noch schneller
37:30 ➢ ii Andantino. Getragen
42:54 ➢ iii Scherzo: Sehr rasch und marquiert
44:23 ➢ iv Rondo: Presto

Waldszenen, Op 82
49:55 ➢ Eintritt - 52:13 ➢ Jäger auf der Lauer - 53:15 ➢ Einsame Blumen
55:37 ➢ Verrufene Stelle - 59:30 ➢ Freundliche Landschaft - 1:00:40 ➢ Herberge
1:03:07 ➢ Vogel als Prophet - 1:06:06 ➢ Jagdlied - 1:08:17 ➢ Abschied

recorded live in 1973 and 1980

Eliso Virsaladze plays Schumann in concert II

Fantasiestücke, Op 12
Des abends - 03:25 ➢ Aufschwung - 06:31 ➢ Warum ? - 09:11 ➢ Grillen
12:22 ➢ In der Nacht - 16:00 ➢ Fabel - 18:33 ➢ Traumeswirren - 20:59 ➢ Ende vom Lied

Kreisleriana, Op 16
26:21 ➢ Äußerst bewegt - 28:38 ➢ Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch
37:55 ➢ Sehr aufgeregt - 41:54 ➢ Sehr langsam - 45:05 ➢ Sehr lebhaft
47:58 ➢ Sehr langsam - 51:41 ➢ Sehr rasch - 53:40 ➢ Schnell und spielend

recorded live in 1994

Eliso Virsaladze plays Schumann in concert III

03:48 ➢ Kinderszenen, Op 15
22:45 ➢ Études Symphoniques, Op 13
47:04 ➢ Kreisleriana, Op 16
1:19:25 ➢ Waldszenen, Op 82 - Vogel als Prophet
1:22:34 ➢ Widmung (arr. Liszt)

recorded live in 2010

Liszt Spanish Rhapsody

recorded live in 1987

Brahms Piano Sonata 1 in C major, Op 1
i Allegro
10:59 ➢ ii Andante
16:08 ➢ iii Scherzo. Allegro molto e con fuoco
21:29 ➢ iv Finale. Allegro con fuoco

recorded live in 1993