An AR Complete Edition Odyssey

[Holden]

I purchased the Arthur Rubinstein complete edition towards the end of last year and every weekend since then I have played at least a couple of the CDs each morning in order from CD 1 to CD 142. It is now time to set down my thoughts on the edition and Rubinstein the musician.

The most striking thing is the uniform excellent quality of his playing throughout with a few exceptions (more later on this). Be it Beethoven or Scriabin, AR always seemed to have something to say that made me want to continue listening. It was also interesting to hear how he changed throughout his recording career albeit that this change was not dramatic. As he got older he tended to be a bit more reflective in many works. Any deterioration in his playing tended to be right at the end of his career and whether this was his failing sight, fingers or both I don't know.

So what really stands out for me. Well, AR the Chopinist for one. He is still my preferred performer in many of the works and most of us know him well from that perspective. His playing of Spanish/Latin American composers is almost non-pareil. He brings a life to their music that I don't seem to hear from more highly acknowledged performers (e.g. Larrocha). I think that everything he did with Schumann apart from Kreisleriana is very good and his obvious love affair with Brahms is evident in his playing of the solo works.

AR's approach to Beethoven is certainly very different to any other pianist I've heard where he prefers to eschew any bombast whatsoever, apart from some of his mind-boggling performances of the Appassionata. The concertos are another story. His collaboration with Krips worked very well but the Ormandy and Barenboim pairings were average to say the least. His G major with Beecham stands head and shoulders above the lot. A complete cycle would have been interesting. The C minor with Toscanini is a very interesting recording.

Rubinstein the chamber musician is one of the hidden treasures of the collection. His joy in collaborating with other musicians is evident in all the chamber music on these CDs. Some of these works were totally new to me and have opened up an avenue into some aspects of chamber music that I hadn't considered exploring. This collection also brought to light works I'd heard once or twice and thought "Oh, well, no need to listen to that again" and has now made me rethink my opinion of them. The Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue from 1945 certainly stands out here and I am searching for a modern performance that can come close to recreating what Rubinstein did so long ago. None of his own subsequent recordings get close to what he did here.

I am so glad that I brought this set and I was lucky enough to get it when it was at a very cheap price. Here are some of the highlights, for me, from this fantastic collection from a supremely talented and unique musician.

CD 12 - Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue
CD 14 - LvB Op 33/3 and Brahms/Schumann/etc
CD 23 - Beethoven Op 33/3 and Op 57 (a most 'passionate' Appassionata)
CD 25 - Schubert Piano trio D898 (w Heifetz/Feuermann)
CD 30 - Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor (w Heifetz/Piatigorsky)
CD 33 - Beethoven PC #4 (w Beecham/RPO) His best LvB PC
CD 34, 35 - Chopin Nocturnes
CD 40 - Brahms PC 2 (w Munch/BSO)
CD 47 - Brahms Intermezzi
CD 48 - Chopin PC 1 (w Wallenstein LAPO)
CD 55 - Spanish solo works
CD 64 - Chopin Fantasie. Nouvelle Etudes, Impromptus
CD 78 - At Carnegie Hall (more later)
CD 83 - Schumann Fantasiestucke Op 12 (my reference for this work)
CD 115 - Dvorak Qunitet in A Op 81 (w Guarneri SQ)
CD 118 - Dvorak Quartet in E flat Op 87 (w Szeryng/Fournier)
CD 121 - Faure Quartet in C minor Op 15 (w Guarneri SQ)
CD 127 - Mozart Quartets K 478, K 493 (w Guarneri SQ)
CD 131 - Schumann Etudes Symphoniques etc (rare live recordings from different venues. AR the live musician is superior one to his studio performances)
CD 140 - 142 Recitals at Carnegie Hall - Rubinstein live is an awesome performer.

For those that have or have heard this collection it would be interesting to see what you thought of as highlights.

[Todd]

and his obvious love affair with Brahms is evident in his playing of the solo works.

Amen to that!  I've still not quite finished my set - I have about 15-20 discs left, mostly from the late recordings, and while I can't really pinpoint specific recordings as favorites, I will echo the almost uniform excellence from the 20s through the 70s, and in general terms, I find his Brahms - solo, chamber, and concerto - to be his best work.  His 30s and 40s recordings, of just about any composer, are just outstanding.  And forget his early or late Chopin recordings (okay, don't forget them), his middle recordings are the ones to have.  I'm holding off on the unreleased recordings and the Carnegie Hall concert until the end.  Like you, I'm very glad I got this set when it was cheap; it will be a source of listening pleasure for (hopefully) decades to come.  I've always liked me some Rubinstein, but hearing almost his entire output has made me appreciate his artistry even more.  He's one of the titans.

The Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue from 1945 certainly stands out here and I am searching for a modern performance that can come close to recreating what Rubinstein did so long ago.

While I wouldn't say she quite matches Rubinstein, Mūza Rubackytė may be worth your consideration.  (Her vey best work that I've heard is her gorgeous Liszt Annees.)

[Holden]

And forget his early or late Chopin recordings (okay, don't forget them), his middle recordings are the ones to have.  I'm holding off on the unreleased recordings and the Carnegie Hall concert until the end. 

Because I already had all of his 3rd set of Chopin recordings I didn't play them as I'd heard them many times. The middle period Nocturnes just stood out as being something special and a mix of the best of these and the 60s ones would make for a probably undisputed best cycle ever.

Thanks for the heads up on Rubackyte, I'm hoping that it's on Spotify.