When it comes to interpreting the music of his countryman Chopin, Artur Rubinstein is second to none.
Much has been written about his technique, which magically unites the "singing" style of the nineteenth-century
Romantic school with the clarity of conception and line of the twentieth-century. But behind the incomparable
technique and phrasing was the heartand mind of a man who lived his long, various life with impenitent gusto.
Rubinstein's virile "joie de vivre." as it is reflected hear in this wonderful recording (and in so many others),
sets his playing apart. Sonicaly, this (Carnegie Hall) recording of Chopin's Secound Piano Concerto
sounds a little like a middling Mercury. The perspective is close, the orchestral image remarkably compact
and coherent, the central piano large and well-cushioned with surrounding air. There is, however, a slight,
un-Mercury-like opacity to the sound--a congealing of detail, overall dryness, and subtle lack of presence.
The piano has fine midband sparkle and tone but is a bit soft in the bass. The orchestra suffers from the same
soft low end. This is hardly a weak record as Sid Marks has it, but it's not great either as TP claims it is.
As an interesting side note compare this Carnegie Hall recording with LSC 2355. While the Rachmaninoff
is not as good a performance, it shares some of the virtues of this disc--especially in the rich reproduction
of midrange tone and texture. Although JM didn't think much of the RCA Carnegie discs, I certainly do.
They are flawed but, like many Wilkinson recordings, they have midband magic.
The RCA Bible, Jonathan Valin, Review: 4s/5s 10+/Grate/Good To Very Good
