Frédéric Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 2. II Larghetto | Arthur Rubinstein (2/3) [HD]

Frédéric Chopin - Piano Concerto Nº 2 Op. 21 in F minor, 1829.
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn
Arthur Rubinstein, pianist, 1975.

Movements:
I Maestoso http://youtu.be/hKK0GfdDv4s
II Larghetto http://youtu.be/Q_dSI0gVbp0
III Allegro Vivace http://youtu.be/DgV1zxKnqEg

Complete Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKK0GfdDv4s&list=PL01B537DA781ABB70
The slow movements find Frédéric Chopin at his most generously rhapsodic, the pianist diving off on sublime flights of fantasy while the orquestra offer a glowing curtain of sound.

If the first movement bears the stamp of the "stile brillante", the second shows the influence of Italian opera. The piano style of not only Chopin, but also his contemporaries, owes much to the bel canto operas of composers like Rossini and Bellini, as well as to the leading singers of the day. The delicate melodic embroidery in the outer section is unmistakably operatic; so, too, is the arioso-like piano writing, over trembling strings, in the middle section. Chopin confessed in a letter, that the second movement had been inspired by his secret passion for a younger singer at the Warsaw Conservatory, with whom he had fallen in love and dreamed of for six months without once speaking to her. This larghetto remained one of his favourites, and excited the admiration of Schumann and Liszt.

It was simple enough. As Lauritz Melchior was the greatest of heldentenors, Rubinstein was the preeminent "heldenpianist." Boasting both an enormous dynamic range and phenomenal stamina, he could play not only long seasons but heavy heroic programs (e.g., both Brahms concertos at one sitting). He was renowned for his deep full tone, his cataclysmic volume, his velvet cantilenas, his huge declamatory octaves. Rubinstein came honestly by it all: after a youthful brush with repetitive stress syndrome, he adopted a temperate practice regimen and developed one of the most efficient virtuoso mechanisms in the history of his instrument. Its foundation was a centered posture, participation of the entire torso, and exceptional lateral mobility; working strictly with moderate-action instruments, he could dig deep into the keys.

It's significant, then, that the end came for him not from fading fingers but failing eyesight--macular degeneration. His frontal vision suddenly went, and it was enough to take the edge off his accuracy and reliability. He prudently retired. At age 89.

Luckily the present video (three Rubinstein blockbusters--the Grieg concerto, Chopin's Concerto No. 2, Saint-Saens' Concerto No. 2) had been taped some months earlier on April 22-24, 1975.

Frédéric Chopin Piano Concerto N.º 2 Op. 21 em Fá menor

Видео Frédéric Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 2. II Larghetto | Arthur Rubinstein (2/3) [HD] канала Adagietto