Arthur Rubinstein: Ludwig Van Beethoven Piano Sonatas

Excellent purchase

Excellent purchase, swiftly sent. I'm very pleased and hope to use this service again from the US to Spain July 16, 2008

Best record of Apassionata

I did not listen the Pollini's apassionata, but after listen many famous pianist playing this piece, the Rubinstein's performance is the best!

If you like this piece, especialialy the apassionata, you will be happy listening this CD!

June 19, 2008

spine tingling great performances

I put all these sonatas performed by Rubinstein along with the same ones performed by Van Cliburn and Rudolf Serkin onto a dsic and have enjoyed listening and comparing. Today I put together a Rubinstein concerto disc and had almost 25 minutes of filler space at the end and added the 23rd sonata. I have listened many times to this performance and have yet to make it through the 3rd movement without a BIG chill going up and down my spine. WOW!

Most of my CD-Rs have one of Beethoven's named sonatas at the end if there is filler space. It is music I cannot get enough of and never grow tired of. March 6, 2008

Beethoven Piano Sonatas - Arthur Rubinstein

Perfect selection of piano pieces played by the magical hands of Arthur Rubinstein. The plastic LP version of this, cut decades ago, strongly contributed to my own desire to play piano. And what joy it brought to be able to play these pieces using Rubinstein as a model! February 18, 2008

Lovely - give me a tug

This is a lovely CD - there is no doubt about that. The playing is smooth and beautiful, the music is some of the greatest ever composed, and the sound is pretty good. Rubinstein certainly plays extremely well, and while this is lovely and beautiful, I feel that at times it is missing some sort of drive.

The style fits the "Moonlight" sonata's first movement. It is slow, deep, and emotional. The typical beauty that you can't help but love. The second movement, however, began to lose me. It's pretty as well, quick and light, however it bored me slightly more. Here Rubinstein seemed to save it by having contrasting dynamics, but the overall impression was still less favorable. The third movement fit well - it had plenty of pull, plenty of strength and enough spark to keep me listening and enjoying it.

However, it is in the "Pathetique" that I feel this tug is most lacking. The beginning part is lovely and flows well, but once we get to the fiery part, it's too slow, too precise, and not nearly exciting enough. To put it simply - just not the way a good Pathetique should sound. The second "adagio" movement presents us with another slow, beautiful movement. Here, there is not much to complain about. The third movement sort of felt empty again, or at least too withdrawn.

Overall, in the first two movements of "Les Adieux" I felt that again there was elegance and beauty but nothing exciting to make me feel, "Oh, THIS is Beethoven!" It didn't feel quite right. The third movement picked up a bit, much to my delight. The same seemed to apply to the "Appassionata".

Mostly, while I enjoy and love this disc, I feel that some aspects are extremely lacking. It is probably Rubinstein's "Pathetique" that bothers me most (as it is my favorite among the four), especially since it was the most disappointing.

Recommended to some either looking for an introduction or to long-time lovers. Rubinstein's Beethoven is lovely and beautiful, but I think I ought to keep looking for that perfect one. October 1, 2007

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