Rubinstein, Anton

Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein – Moses op. 112 (1885-1891)

(b. Vychvatinec, Podolia, Ukraine, 28 November 1829 – d. Peterhof near St. Petersburg, 20 November 1894)

Sacred Opera in 8 Scenes
Libretto: Heinrch Mosenthal
First Performance: Prague, 1892

Performers: 2 S, 4 A, 10 T, Bar, 6 B, Chorus, 2 Picc – 2 Fl – 2 Ob – 2 Cl – 2 Bn – 4 Hn – 2 Tpt – 3 Tbne – Tuba – Timpani – Percussion – 2 Harps – Organ – Piano – Strings

Duration: c. 180 minutes

Foreword (Marlene Schmaranzer, 2018)
Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein was born in 1829 into an educated, musical family. His ancestors were impoverished Jews (from Bessarabia on his father’s side and from Prussian Silesia on his mother’s side) who for political and economic reasons had chosen to be baptised. When Rubinstein was three years old the family moved to Moscow, where his father managed a pencil factory. As part of a music-centred education the young Rubinstein’s mother Kaleria Christorovna (1807-1891) urged him relentlessly to practise the piano, and he composed his first piece at the age of five. In recognition of of his great talent Rubinstein, still young, received free piano tuition from the renowned Moscow pedagogue Alexander Ivanovich Villuan (1808-1878). Besides pianistic skills Villuan also provided the boy with a more wide-ranging musical education. Rubinstein gave his first public concert on 11 July 1839 and from 1840 to 1846 toured Europe in the company of his teacher. During this tour he met Franz Liszt and the two remained in lifelong contact. In the years 1844-1846 Rubinstein lived with his mother, his brother Nikolay and Villuan in Berlin, where he studied music theory with Siegfried Dehn and completed his education. His stay in Germany and his experiences there not only influenced his development as a composer but also altered his view of the status of music in society. In Germany music enjoyed great prestige and was regarded as a great art-form, in complete contrast to the situation in Russia. The years in Germany were to have other consequences too. His contact with Clara and Robert Schumann and Mendelssohn would shape his musical tastes, with the result that he, like them, would reject the music of Liszt and Wagner.

Plunged into financial difficulties by the death of his father in 1846, Rubinstein tried to establish himself as a musician in Vienna and so overcome his money problems. This period, which saw him mature from a child prodigy to an adult artist, was marked by prolific activity as a composer. However, wider recognition still eluded him. In 1848 Rubinstein finally returned to Russia and found renown as an interpreter of his own works. From 1854 he undertook regular tours through Russia and Europe and achieved international fame as a conductor and pianist.

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