Rubinstein – Beethoven: 5 Piano Concertos

Artur Rubinstein, legendary interpreter of nineteenth century music recorded complete of five Beethoven’s piano concertos three times. And every time for RCA Victor Company. First complete set of Beethoven’s concerti artist recorded in 1958 with Symphony of the Air conducted by Joseph Krips became great artistic success. Second rendition of Beethoven’s concerti cycle artist recorded in 1970 with Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. For the last time complete of five concerti Artur Rubinstein performed five years later, in 1975 with London Philharmonic Orchestra lead by Daniel Barenboim. He also recorded some piano sonatas and violin sonatas with Henryk Szeryng. 

Artur Rubinstein’s connection with Beethoven’s piano works has its reasons. He studied at the turn of the century. These times Beethoven was valued as musical genius beyond every compare. And this was main reason for regular presence of his music in concert programs where it was played with romantic touch and emphasized emotions. Just the same as music of romantic composers, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt and Rachmaninoff. Rubinstein was naturally the type of romantic virtuoso focused on dramatic and visionary elements of musical work.

Rubinstein – Beethoven: 5 Piano Concertos (1970)

Cycle recorded in 1970 is quite different from earlier pianist renditions. Great success of more than decade earlier recordings indicate Rubinstein as best interpreter when RCA projected this monumental edition. Boston Symphony Orchestra and Erich Leinsdorf, resident conductor of the orchestra in sixties also were the meaningful choice. Soloist and orchestra sound surprisingly solemn and profound. According to well grounded cliché Boston Symphony was most classical orchestra in America. And this 4 LP set is next prove of versatility and emotional capacity of classical style.
Such attitude was understandable in 1970 – during recording sessions to commemorate internationally celebrated Beethoven Year in 200 anniversary of composer’s birthday. Complete five concerti are diversified, first two have more classical touch, what sometimes lead to playing them in typical Mozart concerti manner. In this performance Concerto C Major is more like forecast of closing whole cycle Concerto E-flat Major. Artists build stable construction of exact phrasing, in some points more symphonic than concertante. Second Concerto has more classical touch, especially in Rondo, what means softly and more precisely finished phrases and harmonic passages, but is still enough distant from Mozart’s style.
Third concerto is dramatically determined. There were some connections with light brilliant style Rubinstein showed in his 12 years earlier recording. In 1970 recording such stylistic tendencies are hard to find. Erich Leinsdorf, who in the same time recorded complete Beethoven’s symphonies, in concerti sized up with symphonic tradition of great Vienna composer. The effect are astonishingly profound and intellectually proved performances. In Piano Concerto No 4 G Major this symphonic manner is even more readable. Conductor is leading orchestra consequently to objective rendition and this attitude gives soloist almost unlimited interpretative possibilities. Emotions of Concerto G Major op. 58 are related to Fourth Symphony B-flat Major op. 60 which was premiered at the same evening at Prinz Franz Joseph von Lobkovitz home. Closing whole cycle Concerto E-flat Major op. 73 is once again a serious dealing with classical form and romantic impressionability. This performance is the master interpretation for perfect concerto. And Emperor Concerto is undoubtedly one of very few of this kind in the history of music.

Artur Rubinstein – Beethoven’s Piano Concerto C Minor

Composing his third concerto for piano, Beethoven was probably passing through the most difficult moments of his life. Advancing deafness and unstable disposition made him feel increasingly isolated. Extreme emotions are clearly readable in this work, from triumphant hope to the depths of despair. Composed in 1800, it was premiered three years later with the composer himself as a conductor and soloist. And still the three years period he had for corrections was not enough. According to memoirs Ignaz von Seyfried, the score was incomplete and soloist part was nearly empty. Almost entire piano part during the first preformance Beethoven played directly from his memory. It was probably the kind of work creator has to live with – reminiscences of Mozart’s Piano Concerto C Minor KV 491, which was long time inspiration for Beethoven, can be reason for such delay. Later composer scored his work and wrote his own cadenza to first movement. There were many alternative cadenzas wrote for this Concerto by Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, Carl Czerny, Franz Liszt, Gabriel Fauré and  many others.

There are great recordings of this concerto – Martha Argerich, Claudio Arrau, Daniel Barenboim, Alfred Bendel, Emil Gilels, Glenn Gould, Wilhelm Kempf, Sviatoslav Richter and Krystian Zimerman are the best of the best among pianists recorded Beethovens Third. Probably most esteemed and best known is Artur Rubinstein. His phenomenal and inspired performance of this concerto recorded with Symphony of the Air conducted by Joseph Krips was published in 1958 by RCA Victor Read Seal label.
The history of this orchestra is very interesting itself. In 1937 the NBC founded the orchestra for weekly transmissions. To train the orchestra board hired Artur Rodziński, conductor and orchestra builder. He trained NBC Symphony for Arturo Toscanini, Pierre Monteux and many guest artists. After Toscanini had retired NBC Symphony in 1954 was disbanded. Musicians tried to preserve the orchestra and called new ensemble Symphony of the Air. For the first season musicians hired for the leading conductor Leonard Bernstein and took part in his first television appearances. Orchestra remained active till 1963 recording and airing numerous great performances with Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, Bruno Walter, Kyrill Kondrashin, Thomas Beecham, and Josef Krips.

Artur Rubinstein – Beethoven’s Piano Concerto C Minor  (1958)

Artur Rubinstein was born in Łódź in 1887. As a four years old boy he was already a prodigious child. Since Joseph Joachim heard him playing piano, he became protégé of legendary romantic virtuoso. Later young pianist was studying in Warsaw and Berlin. After his debut in Berlin Philharmonic in 1900, Artur Rubinstein became student of Karl Heinrich Barth, who was pupil of Ferenc Liszt, who himself was pupil of Carl Czerny who in turn had been taught by Ludwig van Beethoven. Lineage connecting Rubinstein with Beethoven makes clear the mystery of his congenial interpretations. By the way, the same Barth’s class was attended by Wilhelm Kempff, who also was great interpreter of Beethoven’s works. 

For the first time Rubinstein recorded Concerto No 3 C Minor op. 37 in 1944 with NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. Then 14 years later Artur Rubinsteion recorded this Concerto with Symphony of the Air and Joseph Krips as a part of bigger undertaking of production series of albums with complete concerti cycle. And this recording is phenomenal documentation of artists possibilities in late fifties. It has romantic enthusiasm and classical calmness. Sometimes pianist sounds light and balanced the way more classical than other interpreters. In this case pianist and orchestra are united by superior idea of the work. And such classical connection is not a coincidence because Beethoven himself gave in Third Concerto some formal solutions known from decade earlier concertos composed by Mozart.