Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Cesar Franck, Heitor Villa-Lobos :: Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 11

Around the World with Arthur Rubinstein

Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 05/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is something for nearly everyone in Volume 11 of RCA's complete Arthur Rubinstein collection. More than any other volume in the collection, these mono performances, originally recorded on 78RPM discs from 1940-1946 demonstrate Rubinstein's incredible diversity and breadth or repertoire. Beethoven's "Les adieux" Sonata, Op. 81a, was a great favorite of Rubinstein's. In addition to the 1940 performance featured here, there is a stereo recording from 1962 (Volume 56). The earlier performance is somewhat more freewheeling and sectionalized than the later more architecturally minded version. But there is a beauty to Rubinstein's sound (which comes through even on these old mono recordings) and a natural rise-and-fall to his phrasing which silences all criticism--even of the brief tangling of fingers in the transition from slow movement to finale. The 1945 performance of the slow movement from Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 31, No. 3, was originally recorded as a filler for the Appassionata Sonata Rubinstein recorded that same year. Rubinstein recorded Franck's Prelude, Chorale & Fugue three times, this one being the earliest version. The pianist must have pulled some strings to record this work, which despite its excellent quality has never been a repertoire staple. Rubinstein makes an excellent case for the work here, as he does in his other recordings (the 1970 version is the best of the three versions).Heitor Villa-Lobos was a close friend of Rubinstein's, and the pianist performed that composer's Prole do bebe ("The Baby's Dolls," roughly translated) from 1920 until his retirement. Unfortunately, he never made a complete recording of the suite--and for some reason decided to perform the pieces out of order in this recording. Nevertheless, this and the Allegria da horta from Villa-Lobos' Flower Suite are a joy to hear.Rubinstein was also a close friend with his fellow Pole Karol Szymanowski. The four Mazurkas Rubinstein plays here were dedicated to the pianist. This 1946 performance is more rustic than the suave, aristocratic version of the Mazurkas Rubinstein recorded live in Carnegie Hall in 1961--reminding us that the Mazurka is a Polish peasant dance.Though Rubinstein was also associated with Darius Milhaud, this version of the Saudades do Brasil is the only recording the pianist made of the French composer's music. He captures the underlying savagery and modernity of the pieces without ever sounding ugly. Despite being an American citizen from the 1940s onward, the only American work Rubinstein performed publicly was Gershwin's Second Prelude. If this is an example of Rubinstein's approach to American music, it's probably for the best he avoided it. The performance is completely unidiomatic: both tempo and phrasing are inappropriate; and he even tampers with Gershwin's harmonic scheme, eliminating the blues chord at the end! This performance is the only failure on the CD.Liszt's Valse Oubliee is a satisfying encore to an effective recital.The mono sound is mostly good, if dry. However there is occasional surface noise, especially during the Beethoven Sonata and toward the end of the Szymanowski and Milhaud pieces."