Views : 1,992,355
Genre: Music
Date of upload: Sep 28, 2014 ^^
Rating : 4.906 (566/23,394 LTDR)
RYD date created : 2022-04-09T02:55:28.305414Z
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Top Comments of this video!! :3
At almost 90 and nearly blind, Rubinstein still manages this encore performance, stretching the notes of the solo or near-solo parts of the 1st movement in heart-wrenching manner, and making the extraordinarily difficulties of the three movements look simple. A true master of his craft, his repertoire is a testament to virtuosity and musicianship at their finest.
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This performance was filmed in 1975 when Rubinstein was 88 (and nearly blind), without an audience in the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, London (which opened in 1962).
As a boy, I had the great privilege to hear this extraordinary human being perform the Saint-Saëns 2nd in early January of 1969 at [the then] Philharmonic Hall at Lincoln Center, with Dr. Alfred Wallenstein conducting the Symphony of the Air (which had grown out of Arturo Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra). (The companion works on the program were the Chopin 2nd Concerto and the Franck Symphonic Variations; the encore was a repeat of the last movement of the Saint-Saëns.)
These same forces made the classic 1958 RCA "Living Stereo" recording of the 2nd, produced by John Pfeiffer ("The Father of Living Stereo") and Max Wilcox (five-time Grammy-winner, whom Arthur Rubinstein called his musical collaborator), and engineered by four-time Grammy-winner Lewis W. Layton. It is also posted on YouTube, in a superb transfer from the original three-track half-inch 30 ips master tape (and remains my "desert island recording"):
I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9egNdxFfg7A
II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph8b_3zjiu8
III: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25l-XKl0FIk
The week before at Carnegie Hall, I had heard these same forces perform the Schumann and Grieg Piano Concerti, together with the Chopin Grand Fantasy on Polish Airs.
Nearly half a century later, the recollections of those two experiences-of-a-lifetime are as fresh as if they took place last week.
That so many of the performances by these musical giants were recorded and preserved are truly gifts from the gods.
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More than 50 years ago I attended one of his performances and was overwhelmed. At that time, there were usually green rooms where one could go backstage and meet the performer. I was only in my early 20s and was taken back to meet A.R. He was every bit as gracious and charming he was known for and kind to me. I kept looking at his hands which were bright pink, hot to touch and thick like a big steak. Good recordings almost never indicate the contours of a great performance in a great venue, but at least we have them to remind us of artists like Rubenstein.
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As well as praising the fabulous talent of Rubinstein, we might also thank Camille Saint-Saëns for producing a masterwork. Saint-Saëns, no mean pianist himself, had been been soloist at the work's debut in 1868, so we can only imagine how daunted Rubinstein must have been when, in 1904 and aged only 17, he found himself in Paris playing the work in the composer's presence. That's pressure!
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Le 2eme Concerto de Saint-Saëns par Rubinstein : ROYAL ! Quelle maestria, quelle force, quelle puissance. Le jeu typique de Rubinstein: visage impassible, les doigts qui tombent avec précision sur les touches, et une virtuosité à couper le souffle. Ce concerto, puissant et frénétique, mérite de faire partie des "grands" (Brahms, Tchaikovski, Prokofiev). Il y a une entente parfaite avec l'orchestre et son chef André Prévin. LA référence absolue. Merci YouTube.
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I think it's interesting how he runs through the arpeggios like he's skipping rocks on the water but anything longer than a quarter note he hangs on to wring out as much sound as he can. Something he's obviously given a lot of thought about. I really like it. And how did he ever manage to play like that still at his age. He one of the few who got better with age. Finally, Previn looks like a real dork in that medieval pageboy haircut, ugh. But then it was the early 70's; we all looked pretty dorky.
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1:20 It's at this point when you should start asking: What falls faster, a man or his shares?
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Camile Saint-Saës was born in Paris on October 9, 1835. He always had a strong inclination towards music, had an immense musical memory, an extraordinary fine and fair ear. Enters the Conservatory of13 years old where he studied organ and composition. It was at this time that he met Liszt. At the age of 25, his position and his fame is universal, arousing admiration for Liszt , Berlioz and Bülov. It is on Liszt’s initiative that Samson and Delilah make their debut in Weimar. Between 1861 and 1865 he was a professor at Niedermeyer School where he was Fauré, Messager and Gigout as students. Through his teachings and his activity, he was at the base of Renaissance that leads Debussy and Ravel. The classicism and cold formal perfection of his work had a moderating influence on French music at height of the Wagnerian period. He composed operas, camara music,symphonic poems, concerts, sextets, and over one hundred melodies, etc. He died on December 16, 1921 in Algiers.
Saint-Saës music is of incomparable beauty. Intersperses moments of great musical intensity with others of sublime delicacy. Emotiveness is followed by others of great beauty.
The interpretation is fabulous, maybe the best I’ve ever heard. Rubinstein is perhaps one of the greatest pianists who ever lived. The sensitivity and cadence he puts into the interpretation are amazing. The orchestra and its direction are superb.
Thanks for this work of art that combines an outstanding concert with a fantastic performer. Bravissimo.
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@robertcohn8858
1 week ago
There is nothing I could add to the more than 1000 comments on this video, except to express my deep appreciation that the world had such a great artist as Artur Rubinstein.
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