In this week's episode, we honour the legacy of one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century, Arthur Rubinstein.

 

Very much like Mstislav Rostropovich (the subject of last week's MWM), Arthur Rubinstein seemed to found a balance in life that afforded him boundless energies and endless accolades.

He was a man who valued honesty over accuracy. Playing from the heart was a necessity, and he was the first to speak if he sensed a performer's heart couldn't find its truth in a work.

BONUS: One of his most notable protégés just happened to be in the Diamond Lane yesterday and she offered a story of her own confirming this very phenomenon. You can watch the whole interview with Janina Fialkowska here.

Back to Rubinstein:

A prodigal child from a modest family, it was a chance connection of an uncle to the famed violinist Joseph Joachim that brought young Artur to his attention at the age of 4. Being asked so often, the adolesent Artur had to note on his calling card that he was in fact NOT related to the famous Russian brothers Anton and Nikolai. 

It was an early awareness of his ability to both internalize music and to translate each work he approached into an organic narrative of human emotion that propelled Rubinstein's love of piano (and his popularity).

Though he may have left out a few notes here and there (and perhaps sprinkled a few extras in once in a while), his sentiment is something you could never doubt. In his own life's journey, he acknowledges the evolution of his style, his aesthetic values, and his personal ideology.

And you can watch and listen to him talk about it in the 1969 Academy Award winning documentary L'Amour de la Vie directed by Gérard Patris and François Reichenbach.

Made just after his 70th birthday, while on tour through Europe and the Middle East, he was still in the peak of his awareness and abilities. His wisdom and wit are invaluable, his musical musings and rehearsal footage never cease to impress, and his home movies offer an irresistably charming layer of perspective. Give it a watch; I assure you it is worth it.

 

 

 And tune in next Wednesday for a fresh slice of Mid-week Musicology here on Classic107.com!