Arthur Rubinstein and Emil Gilels play Chopin and Grieg

Delve into two iconic masterpieces of the Romantic piano concerto repertoire. The illustrious Arthur Rubinstein, now considered one of the greatest performers of the twentieth century, opens the program with Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, alongside the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta. Composed in his twenties at the end of his studies—and inspired by a singer with whom he was in love—this work reveals Chopin’s romantic sensibility through a lyrical Maestoso first movement, a tender Larghetto, and a final Allegro infused with the rhythms of Polish mazurkas. Emil Gilels follows suit over a decade later with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis in Grieg’s celebrated Concerto in A Major, also composed for the love of his life: Nina Hagerup. Characterized by Nordic sonorities, this work bears the hallmarks of the composer’s youthful vigor and has become a pinnacle of the Romantic and piano repertoire.