Search - Rubinstein Remembered (With Audio CD) on DVD

John, Please Shut Up!

John Atherton | CINCINNATI, OHIO United States | 06/14/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Terribly frustrating.
In fairness, this documentary was originally aired on public television for an audience the producers apparently felt was more interested in Rubinstein's celebrity than in his music. But who if not music lovers will buy this DVD, and they will find only brief snippets of Rubinstein's playing.
As for biography, the great raconteur does not get a word in to tell his own story until almost nine minutes into the program. Instead we are treated to a self-indulgent display of his son John's narration, analysis -- even his conducting!
The many photographs of Arthur Rubinstein are marvelous (though other people in the photos are never identified), and a few moments with Daniel Barenboim provide desperately needed reflection.
But -- tell me, someone - is there no better DVD providing a musical and biographical profile of Rubinstein? He deserves one."

This is not "The Love of Life"

Leila De Oliveira | Brazil | 09/23/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with another review that implores a dvd from the film titled "Love of Life", a documentary/interview with the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein. Here in Brazil the film was received, at that time, like a piano concerto: people applauded at the end of the exhibition! Please, the world deserves this gift.
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Rubinstein /Love of life

F. Davies | Barnet, Herts UK | 11/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I too have been hoping for a video or DVD of this film. I saw it twice at the Royal Festival Hall, London when it was first released, but have not been able to see it anywhere else. It has not been on TV in the UK as far as I know. Please will someone bring out a DVD soon.
Fay Davies"

THE MUSIC WINS OUT.

Rsoonsa | Lake Isabella, Calif. | 01/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A tribute fashioned for the centennial of the birth of the great pianist Artur Rubinstein, hosted by his actor son John, this endeavour showcases the gusto of the artist while permitting the viewer to appreciate his vast technical power, with a large emphasis being placed upon Rubinstein's love for his native Poland, in particular Lodz, his birthplace. Interviews with Rubinstein and with members of his family comprise a large portion of this work, and these combined with home movies and too seldom shown concert footage allow us to understand how this keyboard master approaches his art, as well as historical background of his ardour for Chopin, of whom he is the preeminent latter day interpreter. Rubinstein's well-deserved reputation as a raconteur is highlighted, with examples, while his wife Eva and his children draw our attention to his rarely flagging delight in living, maintained even under the circumstances of nearly total blindness which ended his performing career years before his death in 1982, at age 95. Director/producer Peter Rosen emphasizes the obligation that Rubinstein felt to communicate with his audiences, no matter how small or private, and we are gratified at seeing and hearing the virtuoso perform portions of Chopin's second concerto, with both the Warsaw and Lodz Philharmonic Orchestras, in addition to solo performances of such as Falla, Schumann and Poulenc. Easily the best moments of the film are comprised of archival footage of Rubinstein in performance, taken from L'AMOUR DE LA VIE-ARTUR RUBINSTEIN, a 1969 work devised by the outstanding French director and cinematographer Francois Reichenbach, including segments from six of the pianist's favourite Chopin pieces, the Mazurkas; somewhat ironically, to experience the Gallic auteur's camera and lighting skills as we watch Rubinstein play these jewels causes the film at hand, with its many family-related digressions, to be somewhat pallid in feeling.

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