ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN plays
CHOPIN Piano
Music
RCA Red Seal
BVCC-37236 / *****
GRIEG & RACHMANINOV
Piano Concertos
Blue Moon Music 108 / *****
The name of Polish pianist Arthur
Rubinstein (1886-1982) will be fondly remembered by an older generation of
music lovers. Like Lang Lang today, he was the piano superstar of yesteryear,
one who charmed audiences with his charisma and expressive qualities. Unlike
his erstwhile rival Vladimir Horowitz who was nervous and highly strung,
Rubinstein oozed confidence and largesse, projecting the impression that
playing for his fans was pure joy and pleasure.
His great musical love was
Chopin, and this compilation of his compatriot’s assorted piano pieces – Four
Impromptus, Barcarolle, Berceuse, Andante Spianato &
Grande Polonaise, and the rarely heard Trois Nouvelles Etudes, Tarantella
and Bolero - provides great satisfaction.
Rubinstein was also peerless in
Romantic concertos, the playing being large-scaled, often tugging on the
heartstrings but never seeking cheap or sentimental effects. This compilation
by Blue Moon Music brings together his justly celebrated recordings of Grieg’s Piano
Concerto (1961, conducted by Alfred Wallenstein) and Rachmaninov’s Second
Piano Concerto (1956, with Fritz Reiner).
Even the encore segment is
enticing: Schumann’s Romance (Op.28 No.2), Liszt’s Valse Oubliee No.1,
Prokofiev’s March from The Love For Three Oranges, Villa-Lobos’s Polichinello
and de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance. Here is piano playing on a grand
scale.
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