Artur Rubinstein - The Chopin Collection: 7 Polonaises

Chopin (Artist), Rubinstein (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003EO0
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,578 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #80 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Polonaises
  • #85 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Romantic (c.1820-1910) > General

Track Listings

1. Polonaise in C-sharp Minor, Op.26

2. Polonaise in E-flat Minor, Op.26

3. Polonaise in A Major, Op.40

4. Polonaise in C Minor. Op.40

5. Polonaise in F-sharp Minor, Op.44

6. Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op.53

7. Polonaise-fantaisie in A-flat Major, Op.61

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chopin's Polonesas are canons hidden between flowers!, March 6, 2005

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artur Rubinstein - The Chopin Collection: 7 Polonaises (Audio CD)

Ask any person with a passing knowledge of classical music for one name of a composer of Romantic piano music, and he or she is most likely to answer "Chopin"

Try to deny it would be very hazardous. Somehow Chopin is the epitome of the romanticism in all its extension. Even his life elapsed as a loyal image of his own spirit. His beloved Poland signed the crucial dramatic seed for his inspiration. And considering such issue you may argue the nationalism was the real breakthrough with the oldest traditions imposed by ruler countries. So it is not strange at all the Romanticism is the essential nucleus of the Nationalism fever in all the world. From Pushkin in Rusia, Shelley in Germany and Byron in England , to Delacroix, Chopin and Berlioz.

These pages contain the purest and incandescent nationalist fervor ever written. You have several intensity levels and expressions. My favorite one is The well known Op. 53 .

Artur Rubinstein made to my mind his greatest achievement with this works. He exhibits that heroic noblesse so demanded by the composer. And you do not have any fissure to the romantic mood. The Mazurcas may be well considered the mirror image of the Polonesas , due its intrinsic character: written for meditation and nostalgia. The Polonesas are action, without time and above all rage for the ruled land.

I have heard all kind of performances: insipid, overdramatic, extremely nostalgic, sentimental and even over ornamented without that commitment touch and ardor free of any self indulgence.

These are in my opinion, the most idiomatic and anthological interpretations of the whole set. Malcuzinky gave an excellent version of the fifties of the Op. 53, Cortot made a sumptuous reading of the Op. 40 and Shura Cherchasky on the Op. 22 but as a whole , nobody can match with Rubinstein in this field.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful!, December 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Artur Rubinstein - The Chopin Collection: 7 Polonaises (Audio CD)

Majestic playing by Rubinstein makes this an extra special CD in the Chopin catalog. He seems to pump new life into the "Military" and "Heroic" pieces, while his interpretation of the C sharp minor is very uplifting. This is the perfect CD for newcomers to either Chopin or Rubinstein.

5.0 out of 5 stars Rubinstein's Chopin, January 19, 2012

By 

J. Bynum (the southwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Artur Rubinstein - The Chopin Collection: 7 Polonaises (Audio CD)

Chopin

Artur Rubinstein

Seven Polonaises

(RCA - ADD analog performances - remastered edition)

Every music lover should have Chopin's Seven Polonaises and The Nocturnes. No one has performed these piece as well as Rubinstein. This CD contains his Seven Polonaises performances and it deserves a Sixth Star.