Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 41: All Brahms: 3 Violin & Piano

Rubinstein Collection, Vol 22: Brahms: Concerto No. 2; Grieg

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Rubinstein Collection, Vol 21 - Brahms: Sonata No. 3 in F M

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 24: Mendelssohn: Piano Trio, Op.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 73: Brahms Piano Trio No. 3; Sch

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 76: Schubert Piano Trio No. 1 -

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 65: Brahms: Piano Quartets Nos.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 54: All Schubert: Sonata, D. 960

"Today Rubinstein is best remembered as the ideal Chopin interpreter. He recorded much of the composer’s output several times over, first for EMI in the 1930s, in recordings many still treasure for their spontaneity and verve. For RCA, his monophonic Chopin recordings from the 1940s and their stereo remakes remain the standards by which other pianists are judged. And yet despite that identification with Chopin, Rubinstein always claimed Brahms was his favorite composer, and his golden-toned RCA recordings of the Op. 5 Sonata, the Ballades, and selected samples of Brahms’ autumnal late works retain their primacy, as do his Brahms recordings in partnership with chamber groups and outstanding soloists like Heifetz and Henryk Szeryng."

-- Dan Davis, Listen Magazine [5, 2009]

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 55

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 13: Grieg: Piano Concerto, Balla

When I was young, there were three pianists whom I always hoped to be able to hear in person, Rudolf Serkin, Vladimir Horowitz, and Arthur Rubenstein. I finally heard all three, Horowitz only once. These were, of course, the most high-profile pianists living in the United States in the post-WW II years, and all three had prominent recording contracts to keep their names available.

I don’t suppose I have heard these (1962–63) recordings for 30 or more years, and revisiting old pleasures can be a disappointing experience. My youthful enthusiasm anointed Serkin as the ultimate keeper of Beethoven’s flame and relegated Rubinstein to the category of a good show. Time and experience tempered these judgments, as they must, and hearing Rubinstein live several times certainly gave nuance to what a “good show” ought to be. I think what finally did it was letting myself hear Rubinstein’s astonishing sense of line and delicacy of touch, which drew rather than propelled us through even the well-known bars of the “Moonlight” Sonata. I have always admired the way his playing makes each note suggest there is an obvious following one that will appear in its due course. Above all, in his playing there is the sense of the sheer pleasure he takes in it. By this I do not mean he is self-indulgent or willful or careless. On the contrary. Though I recall him as a good showman and though there was the occasional fluff, I always had the sense that when he sat down at the piano, Beethoven came first.

The sonatas here are the “warhorses” of the repertoire, of course, and there is good reason for that: they are sturdy stuff. But how many actually play the triplets of the first movement of No. 14 “with a most delicate touch,” as Beethoven asks of the whole movement, and make them go somewhere? How many can? Rubinstein does so and uses that to create an urgency only released by the arrival of the tune in m. 10, a melody, in turn, urged toward its resolution in m. 22. What sets Rubinstein apart for me is that he does this not by driving us through the music but by drawing us along with it: this is not Bach à la Beethoven. This is not to say that Rubinstein is all delicacy: subtlety need not be understated, nor passion overplayed. There is fire enough when called for, as in the last movement of the “Moonlight” Sonata, for example. In 29/6, James Reel called this playing “poetic,” and we have need of such poetry today.

FANFARE: Alan Swanson Reviewing earlier release

ESSENTIAL:RUBINSTEIN

NOCTURNE

Two Chopin best-sellers and five albums with material new to CD headline RCA Red Seal's newest singles breakouts of the critically- acclaimed Arthur Rubinstein Collection.

Artur Rubinstein. RCA RCD1-7156 [Ballades, with Scherzos]; 5613-2-RC [19 Nocturnes; 2 CDs]; 5614-2-RC [51 Mazurkas; 2CDs]; 5615-2 [7 Polonaises]; RCD1-5492 [14 Waltzes]

If there is one sure bet in the music of Chopin, it is Artur Rubinstein. His recordings of the composer’s music can be recommended without hesitation for their warmth, lyricism, and expressive point. Never over-interpreted, the music emerges with spontaneity and freshness in his accounts, always alive, always delightful and surprising. His fiery renditions of the Ballades and Polonaises combine drama and poetry in brilliant fashion, while his readings of the Nocturnes, Mazurkas, and Waltzes are notable for their Mediterranean color and unerring sense of mood. The sound of the 1960s stereo recordings for RCA may occasionally lack depth and seem slightly veiled, but it holds up well enough to convey unmistakably the tone and the touch that made Rubinstein one of the greatest pianists of all time. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection.

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Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 58: Beethoven: Piano Concertos N

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 50: Chopin: 51 Mazurkas

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 77

Dvorák: Piano Quintet in A, Op. 81; Artur Rubinstein, piano; Guarneri Quartet. RCA Gold Seal 6263-2.

Artur Rubinstein was a youthful 84 when he sat down with the Guarneri players in the spring of 1971 for this recording of the Dvo?ák quintet. His lovely tone and lively phrasing, the clarity of the textures that emerged under his hands, and most of all the instinct he possessed for the singing line, proved infectious and spurred his colleagues to one of their best efforts on record. The sound, while not the best, has good presence. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 48: Chopin: Polonaises

ADAGIOS: ROMANTIC REVERIES FOR

Artur Rubinstein. RCA RCD1-7156 [Ballades, with Scherzos]; 5613-2-RC [19 Nocturnes; 2 CDs]; 5614-2-RC [51 Mazurkas; 2CDs]; 5615-2 [7 Polonaises]; RCD1-5492 [14 Waltzes]

If there is one sure bet in the music of Chopin, it is Artur Rubinstein. His recordings of the composer’s music can be recommended without hesitation for their warmth, lyricism, and expressive point. Never over-interpreted, the music emerges with spontaneity and freshness in his accounts, always alive, always delightful and surprising. His fiery renditions of the Ballades and Polonaises combine drama and poetry in brilliant fashion, while his readings of the Nocturnes, Mazurkas, and Waltzes are notable for their Mediterranean color and unerring sense of mood. The sound of the 1960s stereo recordings for RCA may occasionally lack depth and seem slightly veiled, but it holds up well enough to convey unmistakably the tone and the touch that made Rubinstein one of the greatest pianists of all time. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection.

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 52: Schumann: Kreisleriana - Fa

"Rubinstein's readings of the two finest Sonatas are unsurpassed, with a poetic impulse that springs directly from the music and a control of rubato to bring many moments of magic... [T]he addition of the Barcarolle and Berceuse make this reissue all the more desirable." -- The Penguin Guide to Compact Discs & DVDs [2003/4 edition]

Arthur Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 30

Rubinstein Collection, Vol. 16: Chopin: 24 Preludes, Berceus

Bringing together hundreds of performances commercially recorded over the course of 48 years (from 1928 to 1976), the Arthur Rubinstein Collection is a handsome and smartly executed achievement. Its 81 volumes chronologically chart Rubinstein's studio legacy, with each volume serving up liner notes and photographs that place the recordings in satisfying context.
Rubinstein was 88 years old when he recorded Beethoven's last piano concerto. It is a truly wonderful thing to hear the meeting of these two great musical minds in this performance. There is the composer who had, by the time of the "Emperor," thoroughly mastered and transformed the genre of the piano concerto. And there is the pianist who had, by this point in his long and prolific career, mastered and transformed the art playing the piano. Rubinstein's technique is as sure as it ever was, and his sound is unmistakable, especially in the utter refinement with which he ends a phrase. Never, however, does he overpower Beethoven's music with his own musical personality. No, this is a true collaboration between composer and interpreter, one which conductor and Rubinstein protegé Daniel Barenboim fosters with appreciative verve at every turn.