Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Sergey Rachmaninov :: Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 9

Rubinstein's First Time Around

Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 09/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Volume 9 of RCA's complete Rubinstein Collection contains the pianist's first recordings of three concertos from his substantial repertoire. W. A. Mozart's Piano Concerto, K. 488 was no newcomer to Rubinstein's repertoire when he recorded it in 1931. In 1900, the then 13 year old pianist made his debut with this piece, which would remain in his active repertoire until his retirement in 1976. Rubinstein's view of this work changed over the years, as evidenced by his three official recordings of the work. While his stereo version is beautiful in an autumnal way, this early recording is probably closer to what Mozart intended. What most pianists, especially Mozart "specialists," fail to grasp these days, is that Mozart considered his Concertos virtuoso works, and designed them to "make the performer sweat." While Rubinstein never drives the music too hard, there is more tension in this recording than in the later more relaxed versions. This is especially so in the finale, taken at a breathtaking tempo. It's also nice to hear the second movement played at a listenable tempo--most pianists drag the tempo interminably here. There is, however, a small cut in the score after the first movement cadenza, which was made to fit the first movement onto two 78RPM sides. John Barbirolli, Rubinstein's favorite collaborator in those early years, leads the London Symphony Orchestra in a fine accompaniment. Purists, however, will be driven up the wall by Barbirolli's liberal use of string portamento. Rubinstein was not as fond of Sir Thomas Beecham. In his memoirs, the pianists recalls that Beecham snubbed him during a rehearsal at the Hollywood Bowl. In an act of humorous revenge, Rubinstein offered to drive him home--peeling out of the parking lot as he informed the conductor "You're the first person I've given a ride to. I just got my license today!" Given Rubinstein's tendency to tell tall tales, this story may have been apocryphal. Nevertheless, their one recorded collaboration yielded excellent results. This is my favorite of Rubinstein's four official recordings of Beethoven's Fourth Concerto. The first movement coheres better than in later versions, the dialogue between the piano and orchestra during the Andante is strikingly caught. The finale sparkles, and there is less of Rubinstein's annoying tendency to "splash" trills here than in later versions. Rubinstein plays Saint-Saëns' rarely used and very effective cadenzas here--a welcome diversion. Rubinstein knew Rachmaninoff casually, and heard him play numerous times. While he considered Rachmaninoff one of the greatest pianists he had ever heard, he was ambivalent about his compositions. (He recorded only the Second Concerto, the C# minor Prelude, and the Paganini Rhapsody.) This 1947 performance is more lively, flexible, and at times demonic than Rubinstein's more well known stereo remake. It is also better pianistically, with more sensitive mixing of inner voices, and cleaner passage work--all the more astonishing for being made before the era of tape editing. Although the later recording boasts far better sound, this is the version I prefer on musical terms. It almost equals the composer's own version, although my favorite recording remains the Kapell/Reiner version.RCA has done an excellent job of restoring the 78RPM originals, with smooth side transitions, and no pitch changes."