What's wrong with Rubinstein?

[contrapunctus]

I have Artur Rubinstein's recordings of all Chopin piano music,l and I think they are the greatest recordings of those peices ever done, yet while I was reading through all the Chopin material on the forum his name was seldom mentioned when the article of performers was concered. Can some one explain this to me?

[hodi]

IMO sometimes rubinstein plays too fast...

[nomis]

People only care about Hamelin around here, that's why.

[Kassaa]

People only care about Hamelin around here, that's why.

what?

[odsum25]

Rubinstein was the greatest Chopin interpreter and one of the greatest pianists of all time.  Yes, sometimes he played very fast-too fast, but all in all one of the greatest.

[Glyptodont]

I buy into Rubinstein being superb on Chopin.

My favorite Chopin pianist.  I felt too that when Horowitz played Chopin, he played him very well.

I would use the word "unexcelled" for Rubinstein, but not "best," because classical performance is not a tennis tournament.

[Barbosa-piano]

There is no such thing as a best Chopin's music performer, only the greatest ONES. Chopin presents to us a very elastic music, and that could be performed a thousand different ways and still sound beautiful, or powerfully expressive (There is a case were Hofmann proved that theory by playing Chopin's Sonata in B minor. He played it once, and then repeated the exposition in a completely different style, but just as wonderful...) I enjoy Rubinstein's playing of Chopin's music very much, but if that is the case, were do we put Alfred Cortot, Horowitz, Ignaz Friedman?... It is the language of beautiful music spoken in many accents and "dialects" (If is too radical).

                                                           Mario Barbosa