Great Pianists Of The 20th Century Vol. 85

Artur Rubinstein - piano

Disc: 1 1. Andante spianato, Op. 22 2. Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22 3. Nocturne In C Minor, Op. 48 No. 1 4. Nocturne In F Sharp Minor, Op. 48 No. 2 5. Polonaise In A, Op. 40 No. 1 'Military' 6. Waltz In C Sharp Minor, Op. 64 No. 2 7. Nocturne In C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 1 8. Nocturne In D Flat, Op. 27 No. 2 9. Waltz In D Flat, Op. 64 No. 1 'Minute' 10. Berceuse In D Flat, Op. 57 11. Impromptu No. 1 In A Flat, Op. 29 12. Impromptu No. 2 In F Sharp, Op. 36 13. Impromptu No. 3 In G Flat, Op. 51 14. Scherzo No. 3 In C Sharp Minor, Op. 39 Disc: 2 1. Ballade No. 3 In A Flat, Op. 47 2. Trois nouvelles etudes, Op. Posth.: 1. In F Minor 3. Trois nouvelles etudes, Op. Posth.: 2. In A Flat 4. Trois nouvelles etudes, Op. Posth.: 3. In D Flat 5. Fantaisie-Impromptu In C Sharp Minor, Op. 66 6. Waltz In A Flat, Op. 34 No. 1 7. Waltz In A Flat, Op. 42 'Two-Four-Waltz' 8. Mazurkas, Op. 68: 1. In C 9. Mazurkas, Op. 68: 2. In A Minor 10. Mazurkas, Op. 68: 3. In F 11. Mazurkas, Op. 68: 4. In F Minor 12. Piano Sonata No. 2 In B Flat Minor, Op. 35 'Funeral March': Grave - Doppio movimento 13. Piano Sonata No. 2 In B Flat Minor, Op. 35 'Funeral March': Scherzo 14. Piano Sonata No. 2 In B Flat Minor, Op. 35 'Funeral March': Marche funebre. Lento 15. Piano Sonata No. 2 In B Flat Minor, Op. 35 'Funeral March': Finale. Presto 16. Ballade No. 4 In F Minor, Op. 52 17. Polonaise No. 6 In A Flat 'Heroic'

Rubinstein vol.1
Few soloists have owned composers as definitively as Artur Rubinstein could claim Chopin. Rubinstein's delivery of the composer has struck many speechless for its clarity--assurance at once that this is extraordinary, complex music and that it's likable even to general audiences (who could be easily repelled by the music in a lesser pianist's hands). The more than 150 minutes of Rubinstein's Chopin collected here are stellar, from the seductive nocturnes (recorded in 1965) to Rubinstein's head-spinning read of the Piano Sonata No. 2 ("Funeral March"). Like so much here, the music seems to display virtuosity and a kind of sheer surface of undiluted emotion, through which one can sense agony and amazement, angst and agility. What makes this Chopin collection so commendable is its revelation of Rubinstein's split-second imagination, his long-form command of line and extreme detail in tone colors as well as his dramatic sense of when the pieces should blow wide open. Which they do. There is much familiar here, but in this form, the works (all recorded between 1959 and 1965) invite plentiful new moments of discovery. --Andrew Bartlett