Artur Rubinstein

2010

“One could hardly call this a disc of novel Rubinstein repertoire. All the works are familiar from his studio recordings and had been under his fingers for many years. Yet there is no better way of hearing this great artist than in front of an audience.
All except the Villa-Lobos items and Chopin Etude come from performances in the Royal Festival Hall. We can overlook the less than glamorous sound and forgive the odd clinker here and there (what Rubinstein appearance would be complete without them?), for here is a pianist at the height of his considerable powers.
This performance of Beethoven's Fourth is imbued with a lifetime's experience. The Saint-Saëns, a work Rubinstein had played to the composer nearly 60 years earlier, could hardly be bettered (his second and preferred studio recording with Alfred Wallenstein was made just two months later). As a friend of Villa- Lobos we have authoritative versions of pieces he first recorded in 1931. The E minor Etude, too, was a special favourite, while the Scherzo, interrupted by applause from those who did not know the piece, is all patrician elegance.
Altogether marvellous – except for the printing of Jeremy Siepmann's thoughtful notes where the typesetter, who enjoys using the smallest possible font, is clearly a stranger to the convention of leaving a space after full stops.
Why does this label insist on such unnecessary and irritating practices?”

November 2007

“…there is no better way of hearing this great artist than in front of an audience. …here is a pianist at the height of his considerable powers.”

Northern Echo

Gavin Engelbrecht

“Arthur Rubinstein never failed to please. And so it is with these superb performances of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Saint-Saens' Piano Concerto No. 2, recorded in the 50s and 60s in the Royal Festival Hall. Well worthwhile.”