Schumann Arabeske C Major Op 18 Rubinstein Rec 1947.wmv

The Rubinstein's moved to the Los Angeles area in 1941 where they first lived in Brentwood. In early 1948, Rubinstein bought a mansion like home on five acres in Beverly Hills where, according to Rubinstein, they resided for seven more years. It was during these years that Rubinstein became involved with Hollywood.. He was amazed at the fees he was paid for so little work. For example, in 1946 Rubinstein was hired by Republic Studios to record the Rachmaninoff Concerto No.2 for a film entitled "I've Always Loved You." He also had to record small sections of the concerto as though he was practicing it. For three days of work he was paid a fee of $60,000, in 1946 dollars.Rubinstein was involved with at least five films during this period. However, the motion picture that Rubinstein most enjoyed working on was the 1947 "Song of Love" which was based on the lives of Robert and Clara Schumann. In "My Many Years" he writes, "This time I had to contribute all the music which had to be performed later on the screen by the actors who played Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Franz Liszt. It was a moving experience for me to try to imagine how these great artists performed and once I had to play the same piece in different ways. (This was Schumann's "Widmung" as Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann and Franz Liszt, in his transcription, would have played it.) Rubinstein continues, "I had the hard task of making all this sound authentic. Katherine Hepburn did wonders impersonating Clara Schumann playing as if she were a born pianist.. The whole film was made with love and respect." (Rubinstein coached Hepburn with her arm and hand movements). Rubinstein's dauhter, Eva Rubinstein recalls that ,"He had a great old time making that movie."
Rubinstein recorded all of the works of Schumann, Brahms and Liszt that were used in the film in 1947, the year that "Song of Love" was released.. They are all Rubinstein's first recordings of those compositions and include the Schumann Concerto and the Liszt Concerto No. 1. If one comes across a Rubinstein recording from 1947, that composition was probably used in "Song of Love." Some of the pieces used in the film and later recorded are unique to the Rubinstein discography as he never re-recorded them and rarely performed them, if ever, in public. However, this Arabesque, which was used in the film, was a staple of Rubinstein's repertoire.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Schumann
• Arabeske
• Rubinstein

[davidgray2]

Stunning is not the word for this! It represents the very greatest qualities of piano playing accumulated up until that point.

[aiuhepdos]

I can feel this. In my soul, I feel a story. This song is very life changing if you look at it in the right way.

[rodrigoaguero]

Thanks for sharing this treasure!

[gerardbedecarter]

Thanks for the very interesting commentary! Rubinstein's performance here is the best - no "if"s, no "but"s, no "maybe"s [in my personal opinion!]. "Aristocratic" says it all!!

[sapphire6722]

This version is tops to me! Sofronitsky plays it way to fast. Horowitz's interpretation is okay but not as shaded as Rubinstein's. Love this piece of music!

[injamaven]

this is better. It's so touching.

[yiyiku]

such a classic treasure. i can listen to this till the day i die

[snaaptaker]

Beautiful.

How odd--I was just watching "Song of Love"....??!!

[amayotimuy]

How is it that Rubinstein always has his "aristocratic " tones(colors) to almost any thing he plays...no matter what tempi he plays in..