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Unfortunately my bench has metal legs which cannot be shortened in any way.... Maybe I should talk to the people in my music shop about it and they might come up with some suggestions or even have a low bench which is not advertised on their website...

CA

I am sitting at work, and listening to Rubinstein's performance on Chopin's Piano Concerto number two. It's unbeliavable how nice his interpretation is. I'd pay so much to see Rubinstein and his fingerwork live.

Last august I was in London, at the Royal Albert Hall. I saw Lang Lang live performing this very same concerto. It was good, but does not come near to Rubinstein. I truly believe Rubinstein had the right touch for Chopin's music.

Hi Curious223: I've mentioned this a few times, but I think it is worthwhile to repeat it. At the age of 15, I actually sat on the same stage as my idol Rubinstein. The concert hall had sold out (no surprise there) and they had to put folding chairs on the stage. I sat in one that was on the "aisle." When Mr. Rubinstein walked on the stage, he was so close to me that I could have reached out and touched him. He was rather short, about 5'4" perhaps and had this wonderful mass of white hair. And, as always, a sweet smile on his face. The house came down as he approached the piano. I can't recall what he played, but I did notice a few dropped notes here and there (which he was famous for). But I was in heaven the whole 2 hours.

Many believe that Rubinstein took too many liberties with Chopin's music, made it too sweet and sappy. But nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, he played the music as was written, with no excessive rubato or imbellishments. There is an unbelievable performance of his playing one of Chopin's concertos on youtube. Here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5IG3H6RBGI&feature=related

And compared to the ridiculous display that Lang Lang puts on, Rubinstein barely moves at all. Once in a while, he will raise his one eyebrow, and that is the extent of his emoting. What a man he was.



Please try to find that performance on youtube; you will be amazed.

Kathleen

I'm honestly surprised that many could believe that about Rubinstein simply because it is so far afield from the truth. I always thought Rubinstein's renderings of Chopin stood in opposition to the treacly, rubato-filled excesses that were apparently the norm in earlier times—and that his profound sensitivity and elegant reserve presaged a saner approach to Romantic-era music generally.

I expect Rubinstein will always be my favorite pianist among the historical greats, and, like many others, I consider his recordings of Chopin's music to be definitive.

Steven

Yes......I have an old LP of him doing the 2 concerti, and I think the F minor is one of his most special performances -- maybe especially the last movement.

Great descriptions -- and those personal recollections of him are all the more remarkable because you were just 15!
I saw him up-close once after a concert and he fit the description exactly.

As to what is people's image of his Chopin playing, I think it has gone through some stages. I'm guessing of course on this and just giving rough impressions .....I understand that in his early career he was felt by most to be too literal with the score, not enough "personality" compared to his colleagues. Later, there does seem to have been a time when he was wrongly regarded in the way you said -- i.e. taking too much liberty. Then, more recently I think it mostly came together. But most recently of all I'm afraid the impression of him is somewhat fading.....

Yes -- especially compared to his early colleagues, you can practically take dictation from Rubinstein's performances.

BTW: I love many of those 'insane' approaches too, in some cases because of the laughter that they provide.

Didn't Rubinstein make a point of trying to convince people that Chopin was something more than a "salon" composer, early in his career? It seems like he was trying to show that Chopin was specifically not overly sweet or sappy. Perhaps later when players like Arrau and Argerich came along with their big-muscle approach, Rubinstein seemed sweet by comparison? I only have a vague knowledge of this....

I have been marinating myself in Rubinstein's renditions of the mazurkas lately, attempting to (at long last, after much effort) internalize the proper feeling of rhythmic flexibility. There is no doubt that they include a great deal of rubato, and it seems possible that it might seem excessive to a person who doesn't understand that mazurkas are not meant to be played in a straight 3/4 all the time, that the second beats are supposed to be stretched a bit etc.

(The ballroom mazurkas of my dance lessons are utterly straight, boom-chuck-chuck, waltz-like. I haven't quite gotten over the shock yet.)

I can't stand the mugging and overacting of some current players either, but I feel kinda compassionate toward them, because it must be so hard to find any way to stand out among the legions of fine pianists who are competing with them for the attention of audiences and judges. They have to find some way to show "personality," I suppose, or at least they feel that they do.

Somebody wrote once that if you heard Horowitz play Chopin, you'd say, "Great! Bravo Horowitz!" whereas if you heard Rubinstein play Chopin, you'd say, "Great! Bravo Chopin!"

But then, some people complained that Horowitz's playing was too "dry"-- I guess you can't win. I have no idea what they meant by that, as Horowitz certainly had all the "personality" you might wish for in his playing, and then some.

Elene

I loved your story about sitting on the stage! I found the Second Concerto here (from Barnes):

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 69: Chopin, Rubenstein, $6.29 US, CD, 1 in box, UPC 090266306923, RCA Original Release: 1999, Release Date: 08/07/2001

Number 49 was recorded in 1965 (the first, of the Rubenstein Collection of 99 discs, that was recorded in stereo). I would suppose No. 69 might have been recorded in the late 1970's or early '80s (that is a guess), but not in the misleading release date as stated. This has proven to be an issue, and I have stopped ordering recordings in this series because the sound quality is, simply, so poor. Shame on you, RCA. I love Rubenstein--- he may even be my favorite--- and his piano renderings of Chopin can be wonderful indeed... if one could but hear them. I may give them another chance with this one, though.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 69
1. Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21, CT. 48 32:19
Composed by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Artur Rubinstein and Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy
2. Fantasy on Polish Airs for piano & orchestra in A major, Op. 13, CT. 41 14:26
Composed by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Artur Rubinstein and Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy
3. Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise for piano & orchestra, Op. 22 14:01
Composed by Frédéric Chopin
Performed by Artur Rubinstein and Symphony of the Air
Conducted by Alfred Wallenstein

These cuts are not included in the box set
"The Chopin Collection, Release Date: 7/10/2007
* Original Release: 1991
* 11 Disc Set
* Sales Rank: 7,970
* Label: RCA VICTOR EUROPE
* UPC: 035626082222"

$26.09 US from Barnes; an excellent value if the quality is there. They seem to be having some trouble filling this order, but I guess I'll be able to report on it sometime in the future. I'd be very interested to hear a report, if someone else has the set. Quoting from a review:

"Including all his recordings for RCA; from 1946's Preludes through 1967's Nocturnes, this set presents what many regard as the finest collection of Chopin performances by a single pianist ever assembled. Recorded for the most part by ace producer Max Wilcox in sound that ranges from clean but distant monaural through clear and deep stereo, these performances are the rock upon which any basic Chopin collection should be built. James Leonard, All Music Guide"

Jeff ... oops, I mean Clef ,

I have the 94-CD suitcase-sized The Rubinstein Collection:

description at amazon.com

(It's been out of print for some time, but Amazon occasionally has it available through an affiliated seller.)

I have no complaints about sound quality (at least of the CDs I've played—I haven't listened to all of them!), but I'm admittedly no audiophile. If I have any disappointment at all, it's just that depth comes at the expense of breadth: as a comprehensive discography, there are typically multiple recordings of many pieces from different decades of Rubinstein's recording career with RCA, and, consequently, the actual number of individual compositions represented isn't as large as one might wish.

But, after all, Rubinstein didn't record all the repertoire that we might wish he had.

Steven

Actually I think Rubinstein played the mazurkas relatively straight -- emphasis on "relatively." His contemporaries (even later-on contemporaries) I think tended to "play" with the rhythms much more.

An aside: I played a couple of mazurkas in the recent amateur competition in Warsaw, and did a stupid thing. I pride myself on having a feel for mazurkas, but, in the process of trying to be "a good boy" and be more precise in following the score, I wound up undoing the mazurka aspects of the mazurka. I "forgot" that it was with good reason that my rhythms weren't 'exactly' as written, and ruined the pieces.
A former teacher of mine has done a CD where he talks about stuff like this, not just about mazurkas but in general. His point is that sometimes, "following the score" doesn't mean a literal following in the usual way; you need to know what's the form and style of the piece, and the 'language' of the composer. My attempt to "follow" the score more closely made me actually un-follow it.


Very true -- and I think this applies pretty much to all composers as played by those two, not just Chopin.

(To give credit where it is due: The great "sitting on the stage" story was from Loveschopintoomuch.)

loveschopintoomuch: I so much envy you. I'm only 24, so naturally I have never seen the great 20th century pianists such as Rubinstein, Horowitz, Richter etc.

Elene: I've read a book about dialogs between Horowitz and a Harvard professor of piano's history (or something, can't remember), and I've read the Rubinstein's book about his life. I recall it was mentioned in one of these two books that Rubinstein said he could never be as good pianist as Horowitz was. He was slightly troubled by this fact but eventually he admitted it. Maybe someone has more accurate information about this?

Hi All:

Curious223: I also read that 1,000 bio of Rubinstein; wow, what a memory (and life) he had.

I recall reading this somewhere. Rubinstein and Horowitz were, of course, rivals although they tried to be civil to one another. On one occasion for some reason (gosh, how the memory dissolves when one reads so much) they played the same piece. First Rubinstein and then Horowitz. Afterwards, Rubinstein said to Horowitz: "All right, you've won the Olymics of piano playing." I had to laugh at that. I always thought, while listening to Horowitz play, that his left hand seemed too loud in places. So my nickname for him way back when was "Heavy-handed Horowitz."

Both had periods of depression. Rubintein when he was about 21 or so. Remember, he didn't get really serious about performing until his mid-twenties, and then he settled down and practiced in earnest. But right before this decision, he was lost and confused after having sufferred some serious heart-break. He even contemplated throwing himself off a bridge (ala Schumann). Thank goodness he didn't.

Horowitz, as some of you know, had periods of depression all through his professional career. A few times he locked himself in his bedroom and didn't come out for a couple of years or he didn't leave his apartment. And, of course, he didn't perform.

It is not surprising to me that any great artist would succumb to self-doubt and despair. I can’t even imagine the pressures put upon them. I read a brief bio on Beethoven on Wiki, and down at the bottom of the article, it stated that many believed he was bipolar. Good grief, just because the man was moody and had wild fits of temper, doesn’t mean he was mentally imbalanced. Having to deal with his deafness and all the other maladies that eventually killed him, is it any wonder that he seemed a bit crazy? If so, he had the right to be.

Or maybe (just a thought) genius does require a bit of craziness. How else can it survive and create? Is there such a thing as a well-adjusted genius?

Kathleen

"There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion." Sir Francis Bacon


I've found this to be true. Perhaps it's also true of beauty of the intellect and soul as well.

Amen to that, Sir Francis and Frycek. I guess I have one thing going for me then, as far as genius---and it certainly isn't beauty of the intellect.

OOpppsss...I meant autobigraphy when referring to Rubinstein's book.

Kathleen

Actually, as he says in his auto-bio (1st volume), he did try to hang himself -- and missed. He said he took it as a sign that he was supposed to live.

I was not able to find an autobiography of Artur (or Arthur) Rubenstein. This long out-of-print title:

Arthur Rubenstein, King of the Keyboard by Aylesa Forsee, 1969

does not sound like an autobiography (unless maybe the publisher chose it). I suppose it could be under the name of the ghostwriter, but that is also uncommon. So I'm guessing this is not the book you're talking about.

But, speaking of books, Dr. Kallberg sent me a nice note to give me the link of the online publishers of his dissertation, but said that his book, Chopin at the Boundaries- Sex, History and Musical Genre, would be of more interest to those who are not academic specialists.

That one is available in reprint, Harvard Press, 1998, 320pp, about $30 from Barnes, ISBN 9780674127913.

It's in 2 volumes, with the following titles:

My Young Years
My Many Years

(I have a little review of the first one on Amazon.com.)

P.S. Here's a link to the Amazon page on the 1st volume:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Young-Year..._cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

....and also here's a link to the paperback edition:
http://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Rubins...1258829347&sr=1-4&condition=used