Long-lost Rubinstein video comes to light
mainMuch delight among pianophiles at the unexpected reappearance of a 1966 German documentary about the phenomenal Arthur Rubinstein, shot in the Steinway factory at Hamburg.
Watch here… and be prepared to watch again.
The pieces he plays are:
Chopin: Etude in A-Flat Major, Op. 25 No. 1;
” Etude in C Major, Op. 10 No. 1;
” Etude in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2;
” Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23;
Szymanowsky: Symphonie Concertante, Op. 60;
Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales;
Schubert: Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960.
The most wonderful pianist ever!!!
Fantastic!….so Rubenstein did play in Germany again after WW2, albeit not in concert.
Actually, Rubinstein’s ban on performing in Germany took place after World War One. But he did perform in towns bordering Germany so his German fans could hear him.
Fairy fingers: Absolutely Enchanting, Magical and Transcendent. And there’s no question about his purpose in life. Nor any resistance… I hate to be so negative, but the G-minor Ballade is so often banged to death in coming of age recitals, that I completely didn’t recognize it at first when Arthur Plays: and it’s actually Chopin…
I thought: What is this amazingly beautiful thing of Chopin again, that sounds like a Stradivari being played in the sighing mystical night breeze?