Guild has been regaling the serious historical collector with some rather excellent off-air performances in their Historical series. The latest to see the light of day is this electrifying Carnegie Hall concert conducted by Dmitri Mitropoulos and featuring Anton Rubinstein playing the piano in Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto and Franck's Symphonic Variations, both incredible interpretations by this giant of the keyboard.
The instrumental pieces are also quite magnificent with Mitropoulos conducting white heat performances of Scriabin's "Poem of Ecstasy" and Borodin's "In the Steppes of Central Asia". Robert Matthew Walker's detailed notes speak about the conductor's phenomenal sight reading capabilities which make the recordings even more interesting. A truly legendary document which should not be missed especially at Guild's rock bottom price.
Copyright © 2009, Gerald Fenech