A strange meeting.

A remarkable meeting between two remarkable personalities:

When Artur Rubinstein met Alexander Scriabin at a bar in Paris.

Rubinstein was one of the most beloved musicians of all time, and my favorite pianist.

Scriabin was one of the most inspired composers of all time, and his music is among my favorite. He was a big personality, just like Rubinstein, but older than him.

At the time, he was already a celebrated composer, and Rubinstein a promising concert artist who had acquired a bit of fame already.

Scriabin was curious to know who was Rubinstein´s favorite composer.

According to what Rubinstein wrote in his Memoires (I´ve read the books many times…), he answered: “Brahms”.

Scriabin replied in an overexcited tone: “I was once a Chopinist, but now I´m only a Scriabinist”, after which he stormed out of the bar.

They never met again.

But Rubinstein naturally appreciated the genius of his music and performed many of his works, even premiering some of them in the Western World outside of the Soviet Union.

Unfortunately, only one recording of him playing Scriabin´s music exists, and it is the Nocturne for the Left Hand. You can see a rare video footage of it here.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It´s truly a gem from the past.

Have a great day,

Claudio.