Rubinstein: Kammennïy-ostrov, Vol. 1

Anton Rubinstein, the now legendary Russian pianist-composer, emerges rather disappointingly from this disc. These 12 pieces are literally portraits - of members of a Grand Duchess's court - and they could certainly have charm, even if they are not strikingly memorable. Unfortunately, Banowetz's somewhat heavy-handed and unimaginative playing does them few favours. Jessica Duchen

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2

Jessica Duchen

Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:19 pm

COMPOSERS: Rubinstein
LABELS: Marco Polo
WORKS: Kammennïy-ostrov, Vol. 1
PERFORMER: Joseph Banowetz (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 8.223846

Anton Rubinstein, the now legendary Russian pianist-composer, emerges rather disappointingly from this disc. These 12 pieces are literally portraits - of members of a Grand Duchess's court - and they could certainly have charm, even if they are not strikingly memorable. Unfortunately, Banowetz's somewhat heavy-handed and unimaginative playing does them few favours. Jessica Duchen

Jessica Duchen

Journalist and Critic, BBC Music Magazine

Jessica Duchen studied music at Cambridge University and was the classical music correspondent for The Independent from 2004 to 2016. She has also written for The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, BBC Music Magazine and the JC, among others. Jessica Duchen has written librettos include numerous choral works and operas for the composer Roxanna Panufnik, including Silver Birch, commissioned by Garsington Opera and shortlisted for an International Opera Award in 2018. Two more works based on stories by Oscar Wilde were commissioned for Garsington’s Youth Company, The Happy Princess with composer Paul Fincham (2019) and The Selfish Giant with John Barber, which fell victim to lockdown, this has been postponed to 2021.
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