Frédéric Chopin - Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 & 3; etc. (Arthur Rubinstein)

Information

Composer: Frédéric Chopin

• (01) Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35
• (05) Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
• (09) Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49
• (10) Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op. 60
• (11) Berceuse in D-flat major, Op. 57

Arthur Rubinstein, piano
Date: 1961 (1-8), 1962 (-11)
Label: RCA

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Review

In the Chopin sonatas it’s difficult to think of which performance to choose as the greatest. Aside from the Funeral March itself, Rubinstein’s account of the Second Sonata is a bit too imperious; the Third is much more thrilling, with considerable technical risks being taken both in the first movement and the finale. His own feeling for quiet nuances in the Largo of this work is quite superb, and here too Pollini on DG achieves an innocence that’s disarming. Pollini’s disc is the most perfect, both in terms of the pianist’s technical accomplishment and the lucid piano sound, with nothing that offends the ear. The middle treble range in Rubinstein’s piano sound has a hollow resonance. Rubinstein tackles the F minor Fantasie in rather a heavy-handed manner, with more power than searching drama. If you want your Chopin sonatas balanced and formally cohesive, then Rubinstein is for you.

-- Gramophone

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Frédéric Chopin (22 February or 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has maintained renown worldwide as one of the leading musicians of his era. Chopin's music, his status as one of music's earliest superstars, his association with political insurrection, his love life and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era in the public consciousness. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies of varying degrees of historical accuracy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin

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Arthur Rubinstein (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982) was a Polish American classical pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music written by a variety of composers and many regard him as the greatest Chopin interpreter of his time. He was described by The New York Times as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. He played in public for eight decades. All of his RCA recordings have been released on compact disc and amount to about 107 hours of music. Since his death, several labels have issued live recordings taken from radio broadcasts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Rubinstein

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