Arthur Rubinstein - Highlights From Rubinstein at Carnegie Hall (Hybrid SACD)

It's easy to take Arthur Rubinstein for granted. One of the mightiest pianists of the 20th Century, the Polish-born artist lived for 95 years, debuting in 1894 at age 7, and retiring from the concert stage 82 years later. His playing was infused with a deep connection to the music, a golden singing touch, and a particular, elusive quality that combined gentility, warmth, intimacy, and insouciance. Many pianists today have some and perhaps even all of those qualities, but the Rubinstein blend was a very special je ne sais quoi that seems to belong to artists born in the era that was wiped out by the World Wars.

He was a dynamo. At age 64, he played seventeen concertos in a five-concert series in New York that spanned a period of 12 days. But for New York audiences, the most amazing Rubinstein year was 1961, by which time the artist was in his 74. Starting on January 17 that year, and concluding on December 10th, Rubinstein played ten recitals at Carnegie Hall. All were sellouts or near sellouts, tickets in such demand that audience members were also seated on the stage.

Tracklist:

1. La Cathédrale Engloutie
2. Poissons D'or
3. Hommage À Rameau
4. Ondine
5. Four Mazurkas, Op. 50
6. 12 Visions Fugitives From Op. 22
7. Próle Do Bébé