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| TRACKLIST |
| 1. Camille Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 1958 (23:23) Performed by: Alfred Wallenstein, Artur Rubinstein, Symphony of the Air 1958 2. Cesar Franck Symphonic Variations, for piano & orchestra (also arr. for 2 pianos), M. 46 1958 (13:29) Performed by: Alfred Wallenstein, Artur Rubinstein, Symphony of the Air 1958 3. Franz Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S. 124 (LW H4) 1956 (17:20) Performed by: Alfred Wallenstein, Artur Rubinstein, RCA Victor Orchestra 1956 |
Review by James Leonard
Listeners who came of age in the late '50s and early '60s will have known and admired these performances by pianist Arthur Rubinstein of Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto, Liszt's First Piano Concerto, and Franck's Symphonic Variations for so long that it would take blasting caps to dislodge them from their place in the aural pantheon. For better or worse, this sonically enhanced super-audio CD may provide the explosive charge necessary. While the normal CD layer has stereo sound no better and no worse than previous CD reissues, the SACD layer reveals the fundamental flaws both in the recording and in the performance. The flaw with the recording is that the piano is so far in front of the orchestra that they almost seems to be in two acoustic spaces 10 feet apart. The flaw with the performances is that the pianist is so far below the level of virtuosity necessary to play the notes correctly that his performances diminish rather than augment the music. With his glittering tone and twinkling technique, Rubinstein is in some ways an ideal interpreter for these sparkling works. But with his smudged passagework, smeared double octaves, and splayed left-hand chords all too clearly exposed in this super-audio reissue, Rubinstein is less an ideal interpreter than merely a mediocre player trying to cover his faults with too much pedal. Accompanied by the obsequious Alfred Wallenstein leading either the Symphony of the Air -- the orchestra formerly known as the NBC Symphony -- or the RCA-Victor Orchesta -- the pick-up orchestra consisting mostly of players from the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and the Symphony of the Air -- Rubinstein is given every possible assistance, but the super audio sound betrays him.
Спасибо за такой подарок, Djubei 
не могут человека послать.. 
... и не отмажешься 
