Magic Moments of Music: Arthur Rubinstein – Farewell to Chopin

In April 1975, a piece of music history is filmed in London’s Fairfield Hall: the legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein seeks to leave a legacy to the world. 63 years after his debut there, 88-year-old Rubinstein returns to London to record Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto, completely without an audience, especially for the cameras, with the London Symphony Orchestra under conductor André Previn. Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto has accompanied him throughout his life. Rubinstein dominated the world stage for three quarters of a century and lived life to the fullest as a connoisseur, globetrotter and notorious womaniser. Although he claimed to practice as little as possible, he would go on to become one of the most important pianists of the 20th century and described himself as “the happiest man I ever met in my life.”