The London Lounge

Arthur Rubinstein on Elegance

I happened to find this interview with the most elegant of pianists that is worthy of your time. In the interview there are two points that hit directly on the subject of elegance as discussed in the LL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB61ddUNZZY

Rubinstein says that he does not play the piano very well, at least not as well and many younger pianists who strive to play pieces perfectly. “But”, Rubinstein says, “I tell them their playing is fine, but ask them when they will start to make music.” They do not see the music for the notes like many men do not see dressing for the clothes or elegance for the trying.

The second amazing point comes from Rubinstein’s discussion of the force that emanates from within him, from his emotion…”this something, I don’t know how to call it, maybe its soul, lets use the word soul..” If any of you attended one of his performances, you will know exactly what he is describing: pure, delicious and unadulterated magic. His searching for the word recalls the je ne sais quoi, the magical force we all want to tap into but cannot describe. Beautiful.

Cheers

Thank you for the link, Michael -- it is indeed illuminating.

Rubinstein's own personal elegance is very much on display in the first segment of the programme, seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=To4Ndog4-NA&NR=1

His hat, muffler, and coat (and are those dove-grey gloves visible for a split-second?) are all wonderful, but the overall effect of the elements, simple yet dynamic, is so much greater than the sum of the parts. A real treat!

Do you think Drake's could do a Rubinstein Dot cashmere scarf like that for us?

Huzir

Nice to see you. Happy New Year.

I would have expected you to notice these things.

Yes, that scarf is wonderful. I have made a note to take it to Michael Drake and JCC (it probably was a Charvet scarf.)

I was in attendance at Rubinstein’s penultimate concert in Paris at the Teatre des Champs-Elysees on the Avenue Montaigne. He played Rachmaninoff. He was nearly blind at the time and he played with his head tilted back and upwards, not even looking at the piano’s keys. He played on pure instinct that night before his home town audience and the performance was nothing short of metaphysical. I will never forget it. A few months after that he gave his final concert at Covent Garden in London, then retired to Geneva where he died in 1982.

I remember his incredible smile and his handshake. I have a huge hand by most standards but they felt like kitten’s paws in his hands. He was always very kind and I can recall one evening sitting with him and his wife talking about Chopin when diplomats and high society waited to see him. If you ever read Balzac’s treatise on elegance this comment will make more sense to you, Rubinstein possessed the highest level of grace, he was a truly elegant being.

Cheers

Michael Alden

This is a charming thread, to use a phrase of Raymond Chandler's - as Keats would have understood the word 'charm'.
NJS