Search - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Fritz Reiner, Chicago Symphony Orchestra :: Rubinstein Collection

Re" "alarmingly fast"ýI have to disagree.

David Frey | Fitzgerald, GA United States | 03/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Taste, style, melodic playing and masterful conducting.

Atticus Finch, Brooklyn | Brooklyn, NY | 08/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Musicians today need to be reminded of just how wonderful things were forty years ago and further back. The artistry on this recording is so detailed and fine-tuned. Mr. Rubinstein's phrasing is impeccable. Listen to the nuance at the end of each phrase -- his shaping is exquisite. He was that rare phenomenon: a gift to all of us -- he could express himself verbally and instrumentally and we are richer because of it. Art is alive on this recording. The technical acrobats of today need to open their ears and begin to listen to what music is. I do not devalue all the artists today. There are some who deserve our attention. But let us not forget what we had.



Music is not self-absorption (as so many performers seem to think it is), but communication on a deeper level. We immediately enter the world of feelings. Mr Rubinstein has left us a legacy and I am grateful to have had the experience of hearing him live some 34 years ago. Wish it were now so that I could appreciate him even more.



Reiner is a powerhouse and commanding. I'm crazy about his other recordings as well.



The recording itself was well-done with the finest technology of the day. The fidelity rings true. It's very clean. I'm sure the combined effort got raves back then and, to me, it still does."

Artur Rubinstein: the colorist per excellence!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 02/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Artur Rubinstein was one of the most extraordinary colorists of the pianoÑ owner of that prodigious ability to remark, depict and describe the inner tensions without losing the formal structure, elegance and lyricsm of the work he played, he hovers his Rachmaninov's performances of a very unusual noblesse and sense of grandeur (as Walter Gieseking or William Kapell, for instance).



This Rachmaninov's second. although it lacks of required fierceness in some passages, it's elegant, sensitive and romantically scented.



The Variations on Paganini's theme to my mind are less impressive respect to the other not so well known version recorded with Victor de Sabata, which is much more incisive, mercurial and imaginative.



A worthy to collect album!"