Arthur Rubinstein being Arthur Rubinstein for 8 minutes straight

I wanted to make this video about Rubinstein comedic yet light-hearted. Much like my Horowitz video! Rubinstein was a legendary pianist and had an amazing personality.
If you enjoyed the video, please be sure to like it and comment down below your favorite thing about Horowitz! I would love to hear your thoughts!
Social Media:
Instagram - / pgwpiano

[@amhaun01]

The bit with the Chopin etude is hilarious

[@MrRjcosta]

All Pianists must have time to improvise and enjoy themselves😊🎹🎼🎵🎶🎶! Congrats, Mr. Rubinstein! The best👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻!

[@carlosenriquegonzalez-isla6523]

Exemplifies the attitude of classical music audiences in the USA

[@waynesmith3767]

How amazing he was; a gift from God for us.

[@maxpemberton5282]

That final speech of his in his old age is worth 10x more than any motivational, grindset speech ever could be. It’s so inspiring and uplifting to hear this great artist in the last years of his life having lost his eyesight, yet still finding wonder in life and, not just loving life, but loving life unconditionally.

[@MarcAmengual]

Yes. I couldn't agree more.

[@sanjosemike3137]

While I agree he did love life unconditionally, but his relationships with women were not always "generous" or kind. Einstein was very similar. Rubinstein preferred to take care of his own needs above others. His own son recognized that and for a while this caused them a "separation." Not that I'm expecting him to be perfect. Because I don't. But we tend to deify great artists, who do not always "deserve" it. Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)

[@Highinsight7]

beautifully said, max !

[@maxpemberton5282]

@@sanjosemike3137 Just to clarify, my statement was merely on the notion of a man finding wonder in life in the face of the tragedy of losing his sight. I did not intend for my statement to deify him, nor defend how he treated the women and family in his life. I'm in agreement that deifying great artists to the point that they're beyond reproach is very unhealthy for the world of music and I did not intend to add to that trend - I just found the sentiment in his speech inspiring.

[@snakeeplayz1010]

The world needs more people like Arthur Rubinstein! We are missing someone that was truly grand and a comic at times 😂

[@ZKLofiTone]

Horowitz

[@zeus6793]

If I can be indulged...My mother was born in 1924 and took piano lessons all the way until she graduated from the NE Conservatory in Boston, shortly after WW2. Like many women of the time, she was derailed from a career as a concert pianist by getting married and having a family. Her idol, from day one, was Arthur Rubinstein. Fast forward, and my mom, my dad and I are on a trip to Israel, in 1978. We are sitting the lobby of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, when my mother exclaims "Oh my god! That's Arthur Rubinstein!" Sure enough, walking across the lobby, accompanied by a tall, very attractive blond woman, was the legendary 90 year old Rubinstein. My mother actually got up from the lobby couch, and rushed towards him, my dad and I in pursuit, and she immediately began a display of idol worship that I had never seen before from her. She told him how she saw him at the Conservatory, or at Symphony Hall, or at some other performance and how she fashioned her techniques after him, etc, etc! The young assistant, who he introduced as his "companion", I much later in life figured out was Annabelle Whitestone. Anyway, after my mother and he had a discussion for a minute or so, he invited us to join him and his nurse in the hotel bar, off the lobby, for drinks! So, indeed, my mother, my dad and I (I was 13 at the time), sat and had drinks (I had a Coke most likely) at the bar in the King David Hotel with Arthur Rubinstein and his "companion". Needless to say, once we had said our goodbyes, and he congratulated me on my Bar Mitzvah, we parted ways. My mother was on Cloud Nine for the rest of the trip, and remembered that day until the day she passed in 2014.

[@PiergiorgioWilson]

Wow... What an incredible story! He really is a legendary pianist. Thank you for sharing :)

[@amr5838]

"israel", you mean the occupied land of Palestine. Beautiful story nonetheless

[@duartevader2709]

​​@@amr5838dude, just shut up, this is a video about rubinstein, accept for once that people have diffrent world views

[@tonybmusic1166]

@@amr5838Too bad piano playing is haram in Islam.

[@amr5838]

@@tonybmusic1166 No it isn't

[@ELISPOTTS-xc6qx]

When he plays the A flat polonaise, it gives me chills.

[@JOHN-tk6vl]

Yes, that was magnificent.😊

[@ThaSchwab]

Once again, people must be reminded: one of Rubinstein’s mentors when he was young was Joseph Joachim, who performed Beethoven’s Violin Concerto under the baton of no less than Felix Mendelssohn himself, and was a close friend of Brahms. To me the former lends a real weight to the moment at 0:05. He also studied under a student of Liszt, and can trace his short pedagogical lineage to Beethoven.

[@johntravena119]

Didn’t realize that. Thanks!

[@mikeinkc]

Rubinstein NEVER took himself seriously...and brought the joy of music to the world.

[@crafend6040]

There is a funny anecdote Krystian Zimerman had about Rubinstein! "I told him, those Brahms Ballades, they are so deep! And he took my hand, and said "My boy.... are you sure it is so deep?"

[@sebastian-benedictflore]

His "oulala" at the barking dog was hilarious, finished me

[@kateflynn8803]

Yes ! 😂😂😂😂

[@elliottblum7925]

The golden age of classical music...

[@shubus]

Rubinstein is so greatly missed not only as a great pianist, but as a great human being.

[@niccolopaganini7324]

No one is going to forget about him in 300 years, his recording s will be listened for another century

[@brozors]

His two autobiographies were a riot and highly entertaining reads. He is the true king of the Jewish musicians.

[@jowr2000]

Artur Rubinstein was my favorite pianist in my youth. His interpretations were always so natural, with a technique that always served the music. Nothing ever sounded exaggerated or contrived.

[@geraldparker8125]

I attended live recitals by Art(h)ur Rubinstein on three wonderful occasions. The first one was in 1963, in Washington, D.C., at Constitution Hall. I went as a sailor with a mate from the naval base who liked classical music. Rubinstein then was at the peak of his form and powers as a pianist. My friend, embaarrasingly to me, was an authobraph seeker nut. I'll never forget how elegantly Rubinstein just gently and elegantly swept his autograph notebook away, so inconspicuously but decidedly, as he greeted us after the concert. He was the greatest of his time, and nobody can persuade me otherwise.

[@Alpha-Andromeda]

He was such a wonderful character ! He was my father’s great uncle and so my great great uncle and it seems to me my father inherited his humor and also his gentlemanly ways. They looked quite alike too. It’s such a pleasure to see this. Thank your for posting 😌 Long like Arthur’s genius, (long live Jean-Claude), my father’s humor ❤

[@zoulou-zomba1]

Like any genius, not only he excels in his field but in all aspects of life. These people always leave a trace in their wake for mankind.

[@quaver1239]

I have to laugh. Rubinstein excelled at many aspects of his life, apart from at being a husband.. He excelled greatly with every woman he met outside his marriage. The idea of faithfulness to anyone or anything other than music - well, that didn’t seem to enter his mind. And, you are right, he CERTAINLY left “a trace in his wake.”

[@zoulou-zomba1]

@@quaver1239 I am not aware of this facet of his life, l don’t know if that affects my appreciation of his work. A real artist is always expected to have some eccentricity. So much is the better for him.

[@a03oe26]

My favorite pianist ever lets goooooooooo

[@insight827]

This put a smile on my face.

[@wingcap1448]

The A flat Polonaise sounds absolutely incredible here.. What a huge, rich, sound!! The musical ideas so eloquent and natural and the bass like an earthquake. Jaw dropping.. And he just pulled that off like it‘s nothing. A legend!

[@visiblethought]

What a wonderful man! Thank you for sharing. I have a cigar the he gave to my father, who was a cellist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, during a CSO European tour. He loved Rubinstein who played many times with the CSO.

[@yundichen8332]

What time period? If I recall he only played with Reiner once

[@jonahpragermusic8653]

Thank you Piergiorgio for everything you have done. I love all of your videos and I greatly admire your effort to keep classical music alive. Keep it up, and I love Rubinstein!!

[@GourSmith]

There’s no need to “keep classical music alive” … 🤨 It’s very much alive and always has been. The problem is most people are deadened and basically walking concrete blocks with no life in them.

[@jonahpragermusic8653]

@@GourSmith Alive and healthy*

[@GourSmith]

@@jonahpragermusic8653 I get what you’re going for, but again, the music itself is as healthy and intensely alive as can be … The problem is with individuals not being receptive to the life that is music-or the music that is life. The music is just as alive and healthy as when Bach was alive … You’re just seeing things from a skewed and distorted perspective.

[@quaver1239]

Classical music keeps itself alive. Listen. Listen. Listen. Greatly alive. It does not need self-appointed rescuers. It is greater than all of us put together.

[@GourSmith]

@@quaver1239 Someone with some sense.

[@neon9601]

yoooo I love this series! Also I just wanted to thank you, I asked for your help a couple weeks ago on a comment and I used your advice, just thinking and planning and, of course, taking one session at a time and really honing in helped SO MUCH. You definitely inspired me and I went from chopin prelude in E minor like a month or 2 ago to starting the minute waltz with my teacher. Thank you SO MUCH

[@PiergiorgioWilson]

I'm overjoyed to read this. Thank YOU!

[@jamespeterson101]

These are great bro. You've gotta do Victor Borge next, he's perfect for this series.

[@annskinner8467]

Lol, those two together, I would die laughing 😀😀

[@williamgregory1848]

Arthur Rubinstein was playing Chopin before Chopin was even born

[@jazminrodriguez4768]

I LIVE for these videos, thank you for posting 🙏🙏

[@IvarsBezdechi]

THANK YOU for posting this amazing video. I find that I have developed more respect for the titans of music when I am able to experience seeing the other side of them....the gasoline of their talent and artistry.

[@D.Oktipu]

I love the last Message from this Video... Thank you for uploading and thank you Arthur Rubinstein❤

[@paulshi2821]

I love Rubinstein and YOU! Thank you for making such a nice video!

[@walterbryant5543]

Got a chance to hear him in Denver when I was much younger. A great treat!!

[@kateflynn8803]

I love every bit of it ! Oh thank you ! Thank you ! Thank you so much !

[@gigogrom216]

I love how video turned from funny to philosophical in the end

[@aston0708]

A true force of nature and an inspiration to millions,,, even his books are incredible,,,

[@soaringvulture]

I love Rubinstein. Good enough technique and infinite heart. When I listen to his playing, I hear the composer thanking him.

[@user-vx9bv9es3x]

Good day!! June!!

[@MarcAmengual]

He is my favourite pianist

[@kateflynn8803]

It always struck me and that’s why I love hearing him play so much. Even as a child, from the very first time I heard Rachmaninov through his interpretation, you can sense the passion and energy he pours into playing.

[@maryangeladouglas]

THIS IS FANTASTIC. JUST LOVE IT.

[@cooltrades7469]

He had a huge sense of humour . If you will read his memoires you will see also that . But yet again , most jews have this . And as a person who lived in a jewsih ambient in Bucharest , altthough my family is not jewsih , I knew them pretty good and I learned a lot of great things like playing piano , languages , etc . My moste beloved teachers where jews and I ow them more than I could understand at that point . Coming back to Rubinstein , he's aboslutely one of the most brilliant pianists in the history of this instrument .

[@Ko-master85]

thanks piergiorgio for uploading in such a long time. i love your videos

[@robertcocovinis5269]

Thanks P, this video is short and sweet yet succinct and beautifully assembled. Another gem.

[@SunnyKhuranaViolin]

I love these videos man

[@matttheace]

I really like these kind of episodes

[@jgesselberty]

My god, was that Heifitz and Piatigorsky in that one scene? Wow.

[@willardsteele4857]

Right! I am flabbergasted. Absolutely love that this has been posted.

[@clkvlk]

The ending is pure beauty!

[@Zebobynh0]

The video we didn't know we needed

[@ritabustamante8447]

Rubinstein I grew up listening to you. I miss you.

[@dogsbody49]

What a wonderful down to earth person he was.

[@alexandrefernandes631]

Great work here my guy!

[@MrRjcosta]

All Pianists must have time to improvise and enjoy themselves😊🎹🎼🎵🎶🎶! Congrats, Mr. Rubinstein! The best👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻!

[@bifeldman]

Whenever I get lost in the musical woods, Rubinstein leads me back.

[@kateflynn8803]

Justement la vidéo que je cherchais. Thank you for sharing. 😊

[@quaver1239]

Oooh. Aaaah. When I was a child in the 1940s and 1950s I listened to him a lot - first on vinyl and then LPs - but realise today I didn’t appreciate him nearly enough. Seeing him, as now on your marvellous video, would have made quite a difference, I think. Thank you for this treasure.

[@albertseabra9226]

What a fabulous, fantastic genious.

[@kateflynn8803]

The ending is perfect. Although it evokes some type of nostalgia and "regret" in me.

[@kateflynn8803]

Frankly it’s refreshing (for me - genre limite ça fait plaisir) to hear him speak French, in fact I did not except him - or better - i didn’t know that he spoke French. But it seems that I lived in Paris for a long time from what I am seeing.

[@rae-everything]

Fantastic video!

[@parksto]

wonderful man!

[@barrygordon5323]

You could see he was easy to love...and to me his chopin was tops,because inspite of his big personality,his chopin was never made, into a stunt,but all music ...and above all repose,,,,and at the same time ardent...

[@Contracrostics]

Ah this was fun, thank you

[@kateflynn8803]

Oh my God ! I love this man 😂.

[@leochurakov4238]

3:30 - they don’t argue in German, it’s Russian(I'm talking about inaccuracy in subtitles) Here you can see the following gentlemen: Grigory Pyatigorsky - studied at the Moscow Conservatory, Joseph Heifetz - studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory Wonderful video, thank you, Piergiorgio.

[@0babul0]

Very nice.

[@bachopinbee5991]

One word is love

[@thunder8bunny]

coincidence that he's playing both concertos Yunchan played during the Cliburn? Ok joking aside - didn't know Rubinstein spoke French as well - he also seems to have a good sense of humour, which is nice to know. For some reason he always came across to me as someone very very proud, who'd never bow to the audiences (though there's a photo to prove to the contrary), but your clip shows his human side. Thanks for sharing Piergiorgio! P.S. I LOVE Heifetz!!

[@PiergiorgioWilson]

I was under the same impression before making the video. However, I couldn't be any more wrong! And I'm glad you enjoyed the video! :)

[@jeremyd1021]

I think he spoke 8 or 9 languages, Polish, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian and a couple more that escape me as I write. He also did not really seek the company of other musicians too much as he said that often they had no other interests beside their music, whereas Rubinstein was interested in everything.

[@eyrewit]

@@jeremyd1021*Yo-Yo Ma enters the chat*

[@culturehorse]

What is that clip from the Beethoven No. 3 rehearsal & the Lieberstraum at the end are there links of them in full somewhere my friend, please. This is wonderfully witty & imaginative thanks.

[@l3oke.tto_0926]

Lol I would love to see that Beethoven 3 rehearsal vid as well

[@culturehorse]

@@l3oke.tto_0926 Very much. I cannot find even this footage . It could be private or unlisted portioin of a VHS or CD. Will keep looking though. Cheers.

[@maui3947]

Have you found that liebestraum one? Cant find it on yt anywhere

[@silviateresalarrazparra3127]

Lo adoro.

[@kateflynn8803]

1:30 ah ah same same. So relatable. When the music strikes, it strikes. 😂😂

[@purpleowl2075]

Awesome video as ever! Where's the video at 0:36 from?

[@birgirkarl]

💙💙💙

[@kzelmer]

LoL the op 25 no 11 bit is epic

[@poomaster6868]

I LOVE ATHUR RUBINSTEIN SO MUCH OMGOMGOMG I LOVE AFGUR RHBINSTEIN

[@espressonoob]

Wonderful. Him and Andras Schiff are my two favourite musicians.

[@jeremyd1021]

Two total opposite ends of the spectrum!

[@melissavictoriabomfim00]

Precious gentleman! 😅🎩

[@RenaissanceEarCandy]

I think "Victor Borge being Victor Borge" might be an awesome one. He was so much fun, and hilarious.

[@alexanfadel]

So sad we didnt have much footage for rachmaninoff 😢, really wish we could have more footage so something like this could be made

[@jeremyd1021]

Rachmaninoff was a bit austere by all accounts, I am not sure he would make a good subject, and whilst he was a great performer of his own music, he was not so much a great performer of other composers music. As Arrau said, he makes everything he played sound like one of his own compositions.

[@user-eu6ef6ih3z]

Благодарю. Это Восхитительно! Великолепно! Вдохновенно!Браво!!!👋👋👋👋👋✨🌿✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨💐✨🌿

[@kateflynn8803]

Oh my 😂😂😂 Let’s argue in English !! And here I am. Yet another (sadly) deceased artist for me to obsess and fangirl about. 😂😂

[@MarcAmengual]

Beautiful ending

[@ingmo9]

❤

[@calvinklein8639]

Please , what is the name of the piece at 0:36?

[@raffobaffo6861]

It's the ending of the first movement of beethoven's piano concerto n 3

[@matejurbanek4408]

Thank you so much🖤

[@stav2175]

piergiorgio is aliveeee :)

[@TomBarrister]

Rubinstein was fluent in eight languages.

[@opusposthumous]

Has anyone identified the source of the Liebestraum recording starting at 6:21? I feel like I've seen it somewhere else before, but never the whole piece.

[@CamhiRichard]

In around 1974, there was a documentary of Rubinstein which I saw in the local movie theater, and always wished since then that I could watch it again. One memory that stood out in the film was his telling of a trip to the zoo with a local dignitary who tried very hard to get the birds to laugh. But I think there were some clips in your video of this same documentary. Is this the case, and if so, could you possibly publish the whole film if you have it? I'd be very grateful!

[@yassinemotaouakkil3530]

The whole documentary is one KZbin titled as The Love of Life or L'Amour de la Vie Artur Rubinstein. It was made by François Reichenbach

[@CamhiRichard]

@@yassinemotaouakkil3530 Many many thanks! Found it. Just as delightful as how I remembered it. To be in this man's presence for a while, even at this distance, is a priceless gift.

[@yassinemotaouakkil3530]

@@CamhiRichard My pleasure :)

[@lucasgust7720]

00:00 Rubinstein didn't claim to be the first to add a few bars, he just said that "he learned to add a few bars".

[@paulocorreiafilho]

In a world where the machines are more and more intelligent and the humans are more stupid, we need more people like Rubinstein. But I'm not very optimistic.

[@kimsahl8555]

Rubinstein became first Rubinstein in his later years!

[@moosicisthegood]

Does anyone know where that video of the trio with Heifetz and Rubinstein is from?

[@ivanatodorovic8073]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZzXo2SJiNF_oK8 Starts at 48:30 Some of the most brilliant playing ever.

[@EdwarddeVere1550]

The "Million Dollar TRIO". That was Heifetz , Rubinstein and Piatigorsky. You'll find it on KZbin.

[@kaleidoscopio5]

The last civilised man 😎

[@ivanatodorovic8073]

The sad truth.

[@TheSlowPianist]

Not if you read his autobiography.

[@tamer3397]

Far from civilized, as theslowpianist said, go read his biography. It's literally him boasting about having sex with everyone woman. He had long sexual relationships with his best friends mother and two sisters. He had many illegitimate children, cheated on his wife, and divorced her at age 90 to marry a 33 year old.

[@kateflynn8803]

1:07 Mr. Rubinstein reminds me of one of my university professors here. 😅

[@dosterix6034]

6:23 somehow that makes me sad...

[@maui3947]

What recording is that? I cant find it

[@sanjosemike3137]

Rubenstein was sometimes asked why he never did Rach 3. He usually said he was too lazy to learn it. Obviously Rubenstein knew Rachmaninov and when they met, they always spoke Russian together. It is hard to imagine EXACTLY how many languages Rubenstein could speak, with a reasonable fluency. Wiki says 8. Above all he was self-deprecating and generally void of intense ego. Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)

[@jeremyd1021]

He didn't really like Rachmaninov's compositions as he mentions in his autobiography. He played the 2nd and the Paganini Variations for a while, I think because his record company wanted him to record them, but dropped them from his repertoire not long afterwards.

[@DanielKolbin]

ah yes

[@stefanbernhard2710]

Where was some of this footage hiding all these years. 😅😅

[@BWV846]

W O W

[@kateflynn8803]

1:24 oh woauh ! A neighborhood rich in history. J’aurai pensé pareille donc…😅

[@jeliotodorov1848]

3:35 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DihelsonMendonca]

⚠️ I'm losing the center of my vision too, due to a rare condition called Central Serous Retinopathy, it's basically the same thing. I'm sad about it, I'm 56. I almost can't read or write anymore. I can still play the piano, but not the way I could do in the past. 😮

[@kateflynn8803]

At 3:23 Can someone please enlighten me ? I would like to know who are the two other musicians next to Rubinstein. Does anybody knows ?

[@voidabletome9879]

On the left is Jascha Heifetz, and the one in the middle is Gregor Piatigorski

[@kateflynn8803]

@@voidabletome9879 Thank you very much.

[@ingrid5910]

Does anyone know the piece from 4:10?

[@justinckchung]

brahms intermezzo op 118 no 2

[@AlexPashkov]

Actually, they argued in Russian….