Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2
Arthur Rubinstein (piano)
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Christoph von Dohnányi
The Chopin items are chaste and tender perfection, every phrase caressed and yet totally without self-indulgence; and the Falla Ritual Fire Dance is a thrillingly unbridled encore.
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2
Arthur Rubinstein (piano)
Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester, Christoph von Dohnányi
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The Chopin items are chaste and tender perfection, every phrase caressed and yet totally without self-indulgence; and the Falla Ritual Fire Dance is a thrillingly unbridled encore.
About
Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982), born in Poland, requires no introduction – he was one of the greatest and most distinguished pianists of the 20th century with a large discography.
These performances have never been issued before.
They have an historical importance in that after 1914, Rubinstein never played in Germany again and therefore to have him with a German orchestra (KRSO) in Zurich in 1966 was a very rare event.
The fill-up containing performances from Nijmegen in the Netherlands, on the German border, from 1963, was also similarly aimed at a German audience.
Rubinstein caught live in 1966 rather than in the studio brings a much greater spontaneity in the Brahms, which is beautifully and excitingly played without any technical problems associated with live concerts. The orchestra under its then Music Director, Christoph von Dohnányi, on tour in Switzerland, brings a close collaboration to the partnership.
The recital is the completion of the Nijmegen concert, the other part being issued on Medici Masters (MM029) to great critical acclaim.
All these WDR-sourced tapes have been excellently preserved and remastered to the highest standards.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
June 2011
The Chopin items are chaste and tender perfection, every phrase caressed and yet totally without self-indulgence; and the Falla Ritual Fire Dance is a thrillingly unbridled encore.
June 2011
he performs with an eloquence and exultance that are quite simply unique. Every inch a musical king, he makes no sentimental concessions but imperiously sweeps Brahms's outsize demands under the carpet. At the same time, his seamless legato, ravishing tone and soaring lyricism declare his identity throughout...The transfers are excellent and so one can hardly be sufficiently grateful for the issue of such musical and, above all, human treasure.
20th March 2011
The orchestral sound is dated and cramped in Brahms's second concerto but Rubinstein's playing is wonderfully fresh, modern and inspired, wrong notes and all. That mercurial, unmannerly generosity extends to his readings of Chopin's Nocturne in D flat major (recorded in Nijmegen in 1963) and to Falla's exhilarating "Ritual Fire Dance".
