During this pandemic, like many people I've been staying home and listening to a great deal of music I haven't heard in some time. The Rubinstein collection among them. Then this week I received something new: Le Bal with pianist Warren Lee on Naxos. This is wonderful music. And really well played. Orchestral writing wasn't Rubinstein's strong point, but his piano music is just great. And this disk at nearly 88 minutes could be the longest yet - the Marantz played it without a hitch!
I have the Marius Van Paassen recording of that - which is pianistically scintillating. Le Bal does not aspire to profundity but is witty and touching.
Excerpts here:
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8803398--rubinstein-le-bal (https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8803398--rubinstein-le-bal)
88 minutes of witty, touching Rubinstein. Oh joy.
I love Rubinstein's piano music, and if the soundbites are any indication this will go straight onto the wants list. I think Warren Lee, who hails from Hong Kong, plays with just the right balance of restraint and panache.