Search - Brahms, Schumann, Liszt :: Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 23 'Appassionata'; Brahms: Intermezzo No. 2; Schumann: Carnaval; Etc.

Rubinstein in Live Performance from His Core Repertoire and

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"[Caveat: Rubinstein is my pianistic god. You might want to take that into consideration when reading the following.]



This CD comes from a live recital in Nijmegen, Netherlands, April 20 1963. The piano is wonderfully tuned and regulated and has an even tone throughout its range. The recorded sound is excellent for its time. The program is vintage Rubinstein (and the listing here at Amazon, at least on the date of this review, is incomplete). The complete listing:



Beethoven: Appassionata Sonata

Brahms: Intermezzo in B flat minor, Op. 117, No. 2

Schumann: Carnaval

Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

Chopin: Etude in E minor, Op. 25, No. 5

Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody in C sharp minor, S.244, No. 12

Villa-Lobos: O polichinelo, from A prole do bebê (with spoken introduction by Rubinstein)



Rubinstein had made studio recordings of all these works at other times. That this is a live concert adds a certain electricity to the recording. For instance, one can hear a bit of tempo instability in the Appassionata's first movement which I can only ascribe to nervousness on the pianist's part. (We are told in the program notes that according to Rubinstein's daughter Alina there had been busloads of Germans coming across the Dutch border for the concert and that Rubinstein was a bit nervous about the possibility of former Nazis in the audience.) There are certainly no obvious dropped notes or memory problems. Of course all these works had been in his repertoire for many years. Indeed, I find little to distinguish between this Appassionata and his 1953 RCA recording, the one I grew up with. 'Carnaval' is especially exciting. Listen, for instance, to the leggieramente 'Pantalon et Columbine' section or the tenderness of the following 'Valse allemande.' Delicious.



The Chopin and Liszt will not surprise anyone who has Rubinstein's studio recordings of these works, but there is an extra something there, especially in the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12.



I first heard Rubinstein play the Polichinelle from Prole do bêbe in recital in the early 1950s and immediately rushed home to tell my teacher I wanted to learn it. She relented and it became one of my party pieces. It is wonderful to hear it again after all these years.



I suspect this CD is primarily for Rubinstein lovers, but it would also be a nice introduction to his work for those who know him only as a name from the past.



Scott Morrison







"