Rubinstein Collection

Sergei Rachmaninoff (Composer), Fritz Reiner (Conductor), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Arthur Rubinstein (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Arthur Rubinstein
• Orchestra: Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Fritz Reiner
• Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
• Audio CD (August 8, 2000)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000031WBQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,990 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rubinstein + Reiner = Riveting Rachmaninoff, August 25, 2000

By 

Hank Drake (Cleveland, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Rubinstein Collection (Audio CD)

Arthur Rubinstein was a aquaintance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's, revered the elder musician's piano performances, and admired--with some reservations--his compositions. Surprisingly, he recorded a very limited repertoire of the Russian composer's works--a total of three compositions, all represented here.

The Concerto and Paganini Rhapsody were recorded in 1956. The recorded sound was astonishing for its day, and remains pretty impressive now. The performances recorded here remain of the first rank. Rubinstein, like Rachmaninoff, had very large hands--stretches and other technical hurdles which other pianists found uncomfortable were child's play for Rubinstein.

Rubinstein achieves an excellent balance between structure--which is usually neglected in these works--and the details of phrasing, rubato (always natural sounding), and dynamics. Reiner, with the Chicago Symphony, do an excellent job with the orchestral contribution. The two artists reportedly had a rocky personal relationship (Reiner had some tart things to say about Rubintein's technique during the making of this recording, the result being that Rubinstein refused to work with him in the future), but they achieved fine results here.

These recordings rank along side Rachmaninoff's own in these pieces, and in the Rhapsody almost reach the level of the Kapell/Reiner recording--still the my favorite version.

Rubinstein's idiomatic reading of the infamous C-sharp minor Prelude was recorded several years earlier, and is in mono. The only regret here is that Rubinstein never saw fit to record more of Rachmaninoff's music.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Re" "alarmingly fast"I have to disagree., March 13, 2003

By 

David (Fitzgerald, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rubinstein Collection (Audio CD)

The Rubinstein/Reiner recording of the Rachmaninoff Second has always been one of my favorites-I have it in two different LP issues, and also on an early CD release-so I am probably prejudiced by so many repeated hearings. Compared to other recordings, such as Cliburn/Reiner, this one does indeed flow a little faster, but to describe it as "alarmingly fast," as one of your reviewers did, seems inappropriate. It is worth noting, in fact, that Rubinstein's recording is actually SLOWER than Rachmaninoff's own recording reissued on Naxos. It is typically Rubinstein (at least to my experience), in that Rubinstein (and Reiner) do not distort the overall structure of the work by swooning over the music. Rubinstein is subtle; his recordings grow on you with repeated listening. For example, on first hearing his stereo recording of the Chopin nocturnes, I was disappointed at what I thought was his failure to emphasize certain passages; as I became more familiar with the recordings, however, I realized that he was in fact very much aware of those passages, but he never indulged them to the point that they destroyed the structure as a whole. Comparing his recordings of the Second with Rachmaninoff's, I find that not only is he a little bit slower than Rachmaninoff, but he also lets the music relax where it needs to, even more so than Rachmaninoff. Coupled with my favorite recording of the Paganini variations, I highly recommend this issue.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cut the old guy a little slack, would ya?, June 6, 2001

By 

Alan W. Pollack "alan_w_pollack" (Brighton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rubinstein Collection (Audio CD)

The Concerto and Prelude on this recording are both candidates for a list of art works that the average person on the street will recognize instantly even if a majority of such persons have no idea of the title or the composer of the piece! Even if you don't particularly go in much for the ultra-romantic affect of these pieces you simply must have at least copy of them around the house as a matter of principle, even if you find them evolving into self-parody or some kind of guilty pleasure over time.

You can find amusing examples of how these pieces have been popularly exploited in the movies of the 40s and 50s; the Concerto plays a prominent role in the comedy "Seven Year Itch," and the prelude is performed by Harpo Marx in "A Day At The Races." But I digress.

These particular recordings are both legendary and sonically well preserved for their age. If you're looking to purchase a first recording of these great warhorses this is a nice choice at a bargain of a price.

Take with a large grain of salt the mixed review of the person above who describes them as "uneven and out of tune." Personally I don't even agree with his observation of the first movement of the Concerto being too fast.