Gilels was treated as a hero of the Soviet Union, winning the State Prize of the USSR in 1946, being named a "People's Artist" in 1946, and winning the Lenin Prize in 1962.

Gilels and Prokofiev

Gilels was a true titan of the keyboard with a huge, almost umatched sound. He declined to specialize in any particular period of music, embracing music of all periods. As such, his repetoire was immense, spanning some 400 works from Scarlatti and Bach to contemporary masters such as Stravinsky and Prokofiev. Gilels had a strong affinity for the music of Prokofiev. Gilels first heard Prokofiev when the composer played a concert of his own music in Odessa in 1927. Gilels was then only 11. Also in the audience at that recital was Sviatoslav Richter, who would later vie with Gilels as the premiere pianist in the Soviet Union. Gilels later admitted that Richter was the only pianist he thought might be better than himself. It is arguable which pianist is the better Prokofiev interpreter. For certain both Richter and Gilels are inextricably linked with the piano music of Prokofiev and both pianists are the true giants of the Soviet period.

Although Richter premiered two of Prokofiev's piano sonatas, Gilels also premiered one as well. Prokofiev dedicated his Piano Sonata No 8 to Gilels and Gilels played the public premiere on 30-Dec-1944 at the Great Hall of the Conservatory in Moscow. Gilels regularly included Prokofiev's works in his recitals, his favorite piano pieces being the Piano Sonatas Nos 3 and 8, the March and Scherzo from the Love for Three Oranges, and selections from the Visions Fugitives, Op. 22.