Wednesday, June 14, 2023

June 14 - Nikolai Rubinstein (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 14th are found here: John McCormack (2019), Lang Lang (2020), Cy Coleman (2021), and Burl Ives; Lang Lang (2022)

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Nikolai Rubinstein (14 June [O.S. 2 June] 1835 – 23 March [O.S. 11 March] 1881) was a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer. 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare and Contrast


Nikolai Rubinstein was generally regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his time, although now his reputation is overshadowed by that of his brother Anton. His pianistic style was quite at odds with that of his fiery brother. He instead opted for a restrained classicism more in line with the musical values of Clara Schumann than Franz Liszt. Wikipedia


The Rubinsteins were not alike.

When each was just a little tyke,

Each competed with his brother,

When praise was meted out by mother.


In time, they lived as piano peers,

With big competitive careers.


Alas, recordings don’t exist,

But critics of the time insist

That like the varied northern seasons

Each was great for different reasons.

 

 

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1 comment:

  1. I've often wanted to know about
    Dear Nikolai. the one "left out."

    ReplyDelete