One of the great ones, Arthur Rubinstein.

I was fortunate enough to hear the great man play twice, the first time at a fund raiser for the Musicians Pension Fund in Philharmonic Hall in New York, with George Szell conducting the New York Philharmonic. They played Mozart K. 466, the  Piano Concerto in D Minor, my favorite.

The second time was near the end of Rubinstein’s life, a solo concert at Symphony Hall in Boston. It was a common belief at the time Rubinstein lacked the depth and chops to play late-Beethoven (as far as I know, he never recorded them. Thus it was a bit of a surprise to see Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 111, the last, on the program. The piece is murderously difficult, but the old man (he was nearing 90) played it with such aplomb I still hear in my head a half-century later.

Here the master plays the B-Flat Minor Scherzo by his beloved Chopin. Enjoy.