Arthur Rubinstein Plays Chopin and Rachmaninov

Movie

Starring Arthur Rubinstein, Alfred Wallenstein

In the intimate setting of his home, one of the most celebrated pianists of the 20th century performs an all-Chopin program, with the Mazurka in C Sharp Minor, Op. 30, No. 4; Scherzo in C Sharp Minor, Op. 39; Nocturne in F Sharp Major, Op. 15, No. 2; and Polonaise in A Flat Major ("Grand Polonaise"), Op. 53. Augmenting this 1950 film are two 1956 Producer's Showcase "Festival of Music" performances: a reprise of the A-Flat Polonaise and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. "Admirers of the legendary Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982) will covet this ... black-and-white salon recital done in Hollywood style, with unidentified guests - including the pianist's wife Eva - caught in medias res, with Rubinstein's playing the last fifteen bars of the Prelude in F# Minor, uncredited. Rubinstein then asks permission to play a mazurka, the piece most representative of Chopin's national character....