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Track Listings
| 1. "Ballade No. 1, Op. 23 in G Minor" |
| 2. "Ballade No. 2, Op. 38 in F" |
| 3. "Ballade No. 3, Op. 47 in A-Flat" |
| 4. "Ballade No. 4, Op. 52 in F Minor" |
| 5. "Scherzo No. 1, Op. 20 in B Minor" |
| 6. "Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 in B-Flat Minor" |
| 7. "Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39 in C-Sharp Minor" |
| 8. "Scherzo No. 4, Op. 54 in E" |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
From the first attention-grabbing notes of the Ballade #1 in Gmin, it is clear we are listening to a pianist whose appropriateness in playing this mercurial set of pieces is indisputable. Indeed, such is the spell these performances cast over me as I listened to them again last night, in candlelight, with a glass of red - I recommend it! - I was virtually on the edge of my seat throughout, especially during the nine minutes of that first Ballade, where Rubinstein`s playing seems to lift off into the stratosphere. I could `see` the music: horses reared, waves broke on a long-suffering shore, cliffs loomed...and the drama never for a moment lets up for the whole of this remarkable recording.
The Ballades are surely one of (or perhaps I should say four of) Chopin`s greatest achievements, and in Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) they found their perfect interpreter. At times it feels like he is throwing himself on the keyboard, lashing his body to its barque as it bobs and weaves on Chopin`s magnificently choppy seas, only for the waters to suddenly becalm. Rubinstein is on top of all the composer`s moods, doing full justice to this astonishing music.
The Scherzos are as robustly played, in this 1959 RCA recording (by now the pianist was in his early seventies) and are just as much of an edge-of-the-seat experience. The sound on this SACD is wonderfully clear, immediate and resonant. For a mere CD it is a fine and rare thing to own, with an excellent booklet including notes by Irving Kolodin.
Rubinstein playing Chopin was usually an event, but here he excels himself - as did Chopin - in performances of muscle, revelry, and not a little devilry.
This is one of the finest discs of classical music I have, and unhesitatingly recommend it as utterly essential.
You`ll see, and hear, what I mean.
The Ballades are surely one of (or perhaps I should say four of) Chopin`s greatest achievements, and in Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) they found their perfect interpreter. At times it feels like he is throwing himself on the keyboard, lashing his body to its barque as it bobs and weaves on Chopin`s magnificently choppy seas, only for the waters to suddenly becalm. Rubinstein is on top of all the composer`s moods, doing full justice to this astonishing music.
The Scherzos are as robustly played, in this 1959 RCA recording (by now the pianist was in his early seventies) and are just as much of an edge-of-the-seat experience. The sound on this SACD is wonderfully clear, immediate and resonant. For a mere CD it is a fine and rare thing to own, with an excellent booklet including notes by Irving Kolodin.
Rubinstein playing Chopin was usually an event, but here he excels himself - as did Chopin - in performances of muscle, revelry, and not a little devilry.
This is one of the finest discs of classical music I have, and unhesitatingly recommend it as utterly essential.
You`ll see, and hear, what I mean.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
8 reviews
42 of 46 people found the following review helpful
As Good As It Gets
24 Mar 2006
Rubinstein was in his prime when these versions of the Chopin Ballades and Scherzos were recorded in 1959. Curiously, although this was his third version of the Scherzos, he had never before recorded the Ballades.
Rubinstein was temperamentally well suited to these works, moreso than in the Mazurkas and Preludes. The narrative aspect of the Ballades suited his intuitive sense of structure well. At this point in his career, Rubinstein had known these pieces for six decades. It is no wonder, therefore, that he performs them more convincingly than, say, Kissin does on his recent recording.
The Scherzos are outright virtuoso works. Rubinstein would occasionally perform all four in concert, back-to-back. Any other pianist would have been exhasted by the effort. Not Rubinstein, who posessed a seemingly inexaustable reserve of energy. The pianist is just as on top of these pieces, technically, as any of his colleagues, and much more attuned to them musically.
The sound, made from original three channel tapes produced by RCA's legendary Jack Pfeiffer, is spectacular in this new SACD edition--sounding every bit as lifelike as the best of today's digital recordings.
This is the one to get!
Rubinstein was temperamentally well suited to these works, moreso than in the Mazurkas and Preludes. The narrative aspect of the Ballades suited his intuitive sense of structure well. At this point in his career, Rubinstein had known these pieces for six decades. It is no wonder, therefore, that he performs them more convincingly than, say, Kissin does on his recent recording.
The Scherzos are outright virtuoso works. Rubinstein would occasionally perform all four in concert, back-to-back. Any other pianist would have been exhasted by the effort. Not Rubinstein, who posessed a seemingly inexaustable reserve of energy. The pianist is just as on top of these pieces, technically, as any of his colleagues, and much more attuned to them musically.
The sound, made from original three channel tapes produced by RCA's legendary Jack Pfeiffer, is spectacular in this new SACD edition--sounding every bit as lifelike as the best of today's digital recordings.
This is the one to get!
34 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Great performances and sound
28 Nov 2004
Highly recommended. Rubinstein's performances of the Ballades are lyrical, and the Scherzos exciting. The difference with previous issues is the SACD sound, which adds just that much more realism, the sense that the sound is "truer." A wonderful disc both artistically and sonically.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
generous artistic presence
4 Mar 2009
Rubinstein's respect for the score, controlled freedom, and unerring sense of proportion prove how sanity and inspiration are not mutually exclusive interpretive properties. A few examples will suffice. For instance, when the pianist lingers over the First Ballade's E-flat major subject, he still provides a strong rhythmic backbone in the left-hand accompaniment to anchor it. Many pianists blur the Second Scherzo's famous opening triplets; instead Rubinstein articulates them without compromising their spookiness.While the aforementioned Rubinstein Edition CD appears to be mastered at a higher level, with slightly more emphasis in the bass, the SACD's overall ambience wins the day, even when reproduced on a conventional two-channel CD player.
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