Anton Rubinstein - Nocturne, Op. 11, No. 2 (1854) {Nobuko Imai}
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein (Russian: Антон Григорьевич Рубинштейн, tr. Anton Grigorevich Rubinshteyn; November 28 [O.S. November 16] 1829 – November 20 [O.S. November 8] 1894) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who became a pivotal figure in Russian culture when he founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein who founded the Moscow Conservatory.
Please support my channel:
https://ko-fi.com/bartjebartmans
From Vol. I for Violin and Piano from 9 Salon Pieces, Op. 11 (1854)
Dedication: Joseph Joachim (1831–1907)
Arranged for Viola and Piano
No. 2 Notturno. Andante
Nobuko Imai, viola and Roger Vignoles, piano
Nobuko Imai (今井 信子, Imai Nobuko; born March 18, 1943) is a renowned Japanese classical violist with an extensive career as soloist and chamber musician. Since 1988 she has played a 1690 Andrea Guarneri instrument.
Imai has worked in chamber music projects with artists such as Martha Argerich, Kyung-Wha Chung, Heinz Holliger, Mischa Maisky, Midori, Sir Colin Davis, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Murray Perahia, Gidon Kremer, Yo Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, András Schiff, Isaac Stern and Pinchas Zukerman, and appeared as soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She is a former member of the Vermeer Quartet and is the founder and a member of the Michaelangelo Quartet, where she performs together with Mihaela Martin, Daniel Austrich and Frans Helmerson. For young musicians from Japan and the Netherlands, she founded the East West Baroque Academy.
Imai's discography includes more than 30 releases on labels such as BIS, Chandos, DG, EMI, Hyperion, and Philips. She has been a recipient of numerous awards including the Avon Arts Award (1993), Japan's Suntory Music Award (1995) and Mainichi Award of Arts (1996).
Toru Takemitsu composed for her a Viola Concerto A String Around Autumn in 1989.
On 24 October 1974, Nobuko Imai appeared with a Japanese combined orchestra which included the Toho Gakuen School of Music Orchestra and members of the Japan Philharmonic with conductor Seiji Ozawa and cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi in a world-wide telecast (carried on the PBS television network in the U.S.) from the United Nations building in New York City.[3] In the concert, she performed the viola solo in Strauss' Don Quixote.
Imai recorded the viola solo in Sir Colin Davis' 1975 recording of Berlioz' Harold in Italy, which was much praised by music critics.
In May 2023, BBC Music Magazine listed Imai amongst the twelve greatest violists of all time. The twelve listed, were: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Carl Stamitz, Lionel Tertis, Rebecca Clarke, Paul Hindemith, William Primrose, Nobuko Imai, Kim Kashkashian, Yuri Bashmet, Tabea Zimmermann, Lawrence Power and Timothy Ridout.