majesty and passion.... I love it

This makes my heart SOAR! And, thank you kindly for this Bod Mas!

really nice performance! best one i have seen so far! Rubinstein is a GOD

Rubinstein is so uniquely over-the-top great with this piece that it might even verge on a corruption of the original music. I'm not a musicologist, but I have a sense the modern Steinway concert grand is very different from the pianos of Chopin's day, in a way similar to the difference between acoustic guitars and electric guitars (the sheer power). Rubinstein's A-flat Polonaise on this instrument is what I might call a 'Perfect Storm of majesty, beauty and power," unsurpassable for this specific kind of "heroic pianism" effect. It's simply the ultimate apotheosis of a certain musical performance aesthetic. But it's possible that even in this perfection, it's a corruption. Do you ever hear rock, folk or jazz classics in both acoustic and amplified/electric versions? The latter is often a more thrilling visceral experience, but the quieter acoustic sound is more intimate and gently/quietly poetic, oftentimes. Rubinstein, in his perfection at the heroic style, has made it nearly impossible to hear this piece in a more modest and understated style, which I suspect would be closer to Chopin's original aesthetic. Rubinstein gives you the ultimate "fireworks" performance, an explosion of sound and color like in no other performance, but there may be a trade-off of quieter and more understated, low-key kinds of poetry Chopin would have sought or cultivated in a "salon" performance. All that being aid, hearing Rubinstein (on recording) performing this piece as a child is what made me fall in love with piano music, so I've kind of already been conditioned to hear this as my gold standard. When I try to think around that personal experience, it's possible to absolutely love this kind of performance, yet still feel it could be pushing aside aspects Chopin himself might have thought worth hearing and attending to.

@huismanq, Thank you!

@ClassicalMusicPL, Now you know exactly why Rubinstein made it very clear that nothing can be the best in art. Only different. There's four recordings of him in particular that stand out above the rest by him. There's the one of the young Rubinstein, the one at the Moscow Conservatory (which is my favorite), this one, and the one the 87 year old Rubinstein performed. Oh, and of course the one you speak of. So that makes it five. :D I love all of them and their unique 'touches'.

FROM BRAZIL I JUST SAY; IMORTAL LIKE A GOD!

@rea082151, I am very happy that you posted this comment.

Feb. 1960, Warsaw

@ClassicalMusicPL, I never said there are only four. I said there are four recordings that stand out above all the others.

For an even more blood boiling recording of this piece by Rubinstein; look to the related videos for the performance uploaded by SProkofieff.

@xMFDBenD, "is a GOD"... please do not do such insult to his memory. It was because he was a human (but with a great spirit and love for life) that he was able to produce such sounds from the depths of his very being. He'd be the first to tell you he was merely a man who lived life to the fullest.

All the recordings of Rubinstein should be banned and only the live ones published. Haha. They are just amazing. What a man, what a pianist!

bellissima interpretazione, ma inconfrontabile con quella di horowitz! lauril1aprile