The Chopin Collection | Frederic Chopin, Artur Rubinstein

The Chopin Collection | Frederic Chopin, Artur Rubinstein | Chopin in the hands of a master

classical music:

The Chopin Collection

	The Chopin Collection Frederic Chopin, Artur Rubinstein RCA Victor Europe, 1991 average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Can't Afford Not to Own This Set

There may be better (according to your taste) individual recordings of Chopin's works contained in this set, but not that much better, and certainly not at this price. Artists such as Arrau (Etudes, which aren't in this set & his darker Nocturnes), Moravec's Ballades, Michelangeli's Sonata No.2, Kapell's Mazurkas & Pollini's Preludes come to mind. That being said, Rubinstein's interpretations of all of these works are also outstanding, and nobody can touch him on the Waltzes (well, maybe Lipatti). The only minor disappointment of this set is the subpar recording quality of the Preludes, but the playing of them is still very nice and quite listenable. If you don't already own these works, this is definately the place to start (especially at less than $3 a CD), and if you don't know Rubinstein's sophisticated and aristrocratic readings of Chopin, you must see what you're missing. Highly recommended.

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Chopin in the hands of a master

The first time I really remember hearing Chopin was watching the pianist and I wondered what was this incredible music. While wandering through youtube, I found videos of this decrepit old looking man at a piano. Even though he looked like he could kick the bucket at any moment, the music he generated from his hands were like magic. I had to know who this pianist was and sure enough, it was Artur Rubinstein, the great Chopin master. I saw this sometime last year at almost 150 dollars and thought that it was a bit much for him (poor college student here). So when I came on and saw the price, immediately I bought it and have no regrets. I just wish I can play half as well as he does at 88 years old! In short, buy this set as you will not regret it. Sure it might sound a little crappy here and there, but blame the technology of the time, not the artist.

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A great recording

There is no need to comment on the fame and ability of Artur Rubinstein. It is well known that he is the best interpreter of Chopin. My only concern when buying this CD set was the quality of sound. Most of the recordings were made from the 1940's to the 1960's, so I did not expect much in terms of sound quality. However, I was greatly surprised when I heard these CDs. Tough the sound is not quite like a state of the art recording, it is very good. Only if you turn up the volume to a very high level you would hear a low hiss. Other than that, the recording is excelent. I really recommend it. The performances are excellent and the price is good for an 11 CD set.

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No one plays all of Chopin as well as Rubenstein, except Chopin himself.

Nothing needs to be said really. Arthur Rubenstein (and Horowitz) is the greatest pianist of the 20th Century. His forte is romantic music and almost solely the complete works of Chopin. Rubenstein is to the piano what Heifetz is to the violin. A word of advice. Never listen to a Chopin recording unless it is Arthur Rubenstein. I'm dead serious!!

reviews: 1, 2, page 3, 4

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