Rubinstein: Music for Piano Four Hands, Vol. 1

Duo Pianistico di Firenze

95016

Anton Rubinstein is one of those legendary figures whose life could be the basis for a book or a film script. The extent and variety of his achievements are extraordinary: besides being an astonishingly prolific composer, he achieved global fame as a pianist and was a pioneer of musical organisations in Russia, founding the St Petersburg conservatory. This album is devoted to his works for piano four hands, though it also succeeds in providing a snapshot of his creative output as a whole. We begin with his Sonata Op.89, perhaps the first great sonata for four hands, and a work that showcases the range of (principally German) influences on his compositional style, containing echoes of Mendelssohn, Beethoven and more. We then travel from the Three Characteristic Pieces Op.9 – creations from his youth which are less mature but which bear the potentiality of what Rubinstein would become, in particular in terms of melodic skill – to the Six Characteristic Pieces Op.50, a series of works written by the composer at the height of his abilities, full of refined and erudite harmony and well-defined pianistic style.

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

Brilliant Classics

13-11-2019

5028421950167