ANTON RUBINSTEIN CONCERTO No4 for piano and orchestra Opus 70
The Anton Rubinstein Concerto No4 is a fabulous piano concerto. It was in the repertoire of Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Sergei Rachmaninov and Josef Hofmann, three of the Olympians of the piano in the first half of the 20th Century. It has been recorded by pianists of the stature of Grigory Ginsburg, Friedrich Wuhrer, Oscar Levant and Raymond Lewenthal.
The first movement, Moderato assai, with its grand, dramatic exposition and lyrical themes, is splendid. The Andante movement begins with one of the loveliest melodies in the concerto literature. And the last movement, Allegro, is befitting of a Brahmsian finale in the rhythmic intensity of the orchestral tutti. The writing for both piano and orchestra is first rate. It is an excellent and most pleasing piano concerto.
But the Rubinstein Concerto No4 for piano and orchestra Op 70 is all but ignored today. Why? The recordings that follow might well convince you that this concerto deserves to be performed, perhaps instead of one more Mozart concerto on a concert program.
Anton Rubinstein wrote five Piano Concerti in all. While neither as popular nor as well known as the Rubinstein Concerto No4,
his other concerti for piano and orchestra
are all very beautiful and very grand. Rachmaninov was also an ardent admirer of Rubinstein, the pianist, of whose playing he said, "[It] gripped my whole imagination and had a marked influence on my ambition as a pianist. It was not so much his magnificent technique that held one spellbound as the profound, spiritually refined musicianship, which spoke from every note and every bar he played and singled him out as the most original and unequaled pianist in the world." Such praise from the great Rachmaninov himself should be enough to suggest that Rubinstein might well have written splendidly for the piano as a composer. I firmly believe that he did.
Josef Hofmann (1876-1957) Polish-American Pianist unidentified conductor and orchestra
i Moderato assai (beginning)
i Moderato assai (conclusion)
ii Andante
iii Allegro
Joseph Banowetz (b 1936) American Pianist Robert Stankovsky conducting the Czecho-Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra
i Moderato assai (beginning)
i Moderato assai (conclusion)
ii Andante (beginning)
ii Andante (conclusion)
iii Allegro
Michael Ponti (b 1937) American Pianist Othmar Maga conducting the Philharmonica Hungarica
i Moderato assai (beginning)
i Moderato assai (conclusion)
ii Andante
iii Allegro
This final recording is missing the Andante, unfortunately. However the outer movements are intact and will provide further basis for comparison.
Marc-André Hamelin (b 1961) Canadian Pianist Michael Stern conducting the Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
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