# Anton Rubinstein



## Ravndal

Il start of by saying that I don't know anything about this composer, but I just heard his 4th Piano Concerto - and it was so great that I decided he deserves to have a own thread.

So.. Anyone else more familiar with this composer?


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## elgar's ghost

I've only one disc - his first symphony twinned with an Ivan the Terrible tone poem. I wouldn't say either are particularly memorable but the the Ivan work is more interesting, if only for a few token 'Russian' elements which almost save it from being a totally generic-sounding, if solidly-constructed, artefact that a lot of mid-19th century composers in the Austro-German tradition could have banged out with relatively little effort. Sadly, this hasn't encouraged me to venture further but I'm loathe to dismiss him completely after your comments on what you've heard - maybe I should try something else by him and as he was a pianist maybe it is the piano concerti which brought out the best in him.


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## joen_cph

The works for piano and orchestra (especially concerti 1-4 and the Konzertstück) and some chamber music (the cello sonatas for instance) are nice, but the symphonies tend to be less memorable and the "Ocean Symphony" is definitely too long and repetitive.
There are 10 string quartets of which I haven´t heard any, but they could be interesting to dig out.


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## Art Rock

I have his second symphony on Naxos and the combination of Fantaisie Op. 84 and Concertstuck Op. 113 on Marco Polo. Not top material, but well worth the occasional listening. I have a number of other CD's in the "still to listen" stack (piano concertos, symphonies, piano sonatas).


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## moody

"He looked like Beethoven and he played like Beethoven,making the piano erupt volcanically...wrong notes,broken strings---they did not matter.The audience went home knowing that it had run into a force on nature".
He was a very famous pianist and teacher, I think that is where his fame really belongs.
He founded the St.Petersburg Academy and taught composition to Tchaikovsky.
His most famous composition is probably his Melody in F, his opers "The Demon" is interesting,
His most famous pupils were Ossip Gabrilowitsch and Arthur Friedheim.


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## DGatsby

Greetings!

I would highly recommend his 6th symphony. The middle two movements may drag a bit, but the outer two are really quite good:


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## Orfeo

Hello!

I would wholeheartedly recommend his opera "The Demon." It is gloriously written and very well-paced dramatically. And while the language may sound a tad old-fashioned, its dignity and gracefulness are of abundance. Little wonder why Tchaikovsky learned much from this opera and from Rubinstein himself.

His piano sonatas and miscellaneous piano works are worthy of acquisition (Leslie Howard under the Hyperion label is the one to get in the 2 album series).

Then try his Second Symphony "Ocean." My favorite recording is Golovchin and the State Symphony Orch. of Russia (1994 Russian Disc recording). The playing is imperfect and a bit scrappy (esp. the strings), but Golovchin phrasings sound just right. His Fifth Symphony is worth knowing also.

His Cello Concerti are worth trying (esp. the Second) as well as his Piano Concerti (nos. III, IV, & V being particularly memorable). Also, consider his Violin Concerto, for it is mighty graceful and elegant. http://www.amazon.com/Rubinstein-Ce...=1-1&keywords=anton+rubinstein+cello+concerto

And just venture. 
:tiphat:


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## ScipioAfricanus

He's a decent composer but nothing special. He music lacks originality. But as a concert pianist he was definitely one of the best.


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## TxllxT

*Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein (1829 - 1894)*


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## Alkan

Thank you for your links Txllxt.

Some years ago I admitted to myself that I enjoyed Rubinstein's music, unfashionable though it is today. Set about acquiring all of his music I could find on disc: symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber works... I now have dozens. I have not regretted buying any of it. Rubinstein is something of a link between Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky, both worthy composers.


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## Dima

As a fan of Rubinstein's music, I was pleased to know about the release of his unknown opera Moses on CD. The suite of the best moments from it sounds beautiful:
https://cloud.mail.ru/public/GGY4/EmT2bGPmV


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## cougarjuno

Love Rubinstein -- Aside from the Piano Concerto no 4. and Symphony no. 2, I think his best works are his Cello Concertos which IMO are as good as any other of the genre in the Romantic-era as are his Cello Sonatas. These works are incredibly engaging not cookie cutter in the least. Also love his Quintet for Piano and Winds. Haven't listened to the Piano Sonatas in quite some time, but there is a wealth of drama and beauty in those also. His music has a reputation of being very dramatic but on listening to some of the slow movements and how beautiful they were is when I believed he was a neglected master.


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## Adagietto

I have most of his chamber works and an album of his art songs, and enjoy them all... especially the piano trios.


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## DLOinQUEENS

DGatsby said:


> Greetin
> 
> I would highly recommend his 6th symphony. The middle two movements may drag a bit, but the outer two are really quite good:


My sentiments exactly! The first movement of this symphony is a true masterpiece - it receives many spins in my home. I have been dying for another recording of this piece. Not to say the Naxos is bad, but the work deserves another reading in fresh sound.

Incidentally, I often wonder why single movements from symphonies are not recorded on their own at times. I concur that the middle movements are forgettable, but I see no reason why the first can't be added as filler to the plethora of rerecordins of the old standards.

I find his fourth to also have its moments. His Ivan the Terrible symphonic poem is also intriguing. And of course, the 4th and 5th piano concertos, and his solo piano work speaks for itself.

A fine composer who had his hits and misses.


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## Dima

Have someone already heard last recording of Caprice russe for piano and orchestra of Anton 
Rubinshtein with with Neeme Jarvi and Anna Shelest? It's very russian and beautiful 
composition (and some fragments Rachmaninov took to his concertos). This composition has very 
modern orchestration and it's fantastic sounds reminds me Totentanz of Liszt.


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## MarcoLusius

Sounds great! Thanks for your find!


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## beetzart

Wow, Rubinstein is a find. I love his 4th symphony and there is this section eight bars long of triplet dischords the resolve and unresolve after about 3 minutes that I've never heard anything like before. Finding a new composer and loving their music almost straight away is such a rewarding feeling.


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## JosefinaHW

Boris Shtokolov performs part of Rubinstein's _Twelve Persian Songs





_


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## oswestryalex

Anton Rubinstein can be said to be the forerunner of Tchaikovsky in many ways - he was along with his brother Nikolai in charge of the Moscow and St Petersberg conservatoires, and they taught the youthful Tchaikovsky. His symphonies are sadly overlooked and deserve more attention as they form an historical arc from the early 19th century composers through Tchaikovsky and beyond. There are some recordings - the most accessible being the whole set on Naxos. Try his second symphony 'Ocean' which has some memorable melodies. It was tinkered around with from 1854 when it was written as a 4 movement symphony, turning later on into a 7 movement construct. I find the earlier version more persuasive, but it is worth hearing both if you can get them. The piano concertos are also well constructed, and his 4th was a staple of the concert hall for decades. But this is a composer and pianist who was dubbed 'Van 2' - due to his amazing pianistic abilities.


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## Dima

I have made two videoclips on music of Anton Rubinstein using scenes from films:


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