Arthur Rubinstein, Alfred Wallenstein, Eugene Ormandy - Grieg & Rachmaninoff: 2nd Piano Concertos (Limited edition) (2004) [SACD]

The CD was released on a limited club subscription, and was never publicly sold. Therefore, there are no links to stores, etc.

Arthur Rubinstein’s 1961 Recording of the Grieg Piano Concerto, coupled with his 1971 Recording of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano Concerto. Multichannel Only! This is part of a run of SACDs produced by BMG for distribution to club members in Germany, but never publicly sold. If you own any discs in this series, speak up!
All of the Edition 100 SACDs contain the following note – there is essentially nothing else of note in the packaging:
Das Super-Audio-CD-Format wurde entwickelt, um bestmögliche Klang-Qualität zu bieten. Das Ergebnis: Das beste derzeit technisch machbare Audio-Format. Es ermöglicht, Musik mit höchster Klangtreue wiederzugeben. Unter Verwendung eines Mehrkanal-Wiedergabegerätes erleben Sie sogar den Raumeindruck eines Konzertsaales in den eigenen vier Wänden. Das Klangerlebnis wird so zum vollendeten Hörgenuss.
Diese Edition 100-Hybrid Disc erlaubt eine Wiedergabe in allen herkömmlichen CD-Playern.
This Disc is the Same as Disc 60 of the Rubinstein Collection. Review of the RBCD Version from Amazon by Hank Drake
Rubinstein was never satisfied with his 1956 recording of the Grieg Concerto, with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alfred Wallenstein. The performance was rather perfunctory, with an undistinguished orchestral contribution, and dry, constricted sonics. This 1961 remake, with the same collaborating forces, fares much better. Tempi are more relaxed, and phrases are molded with greater flexibility. The orchestral playing is also on a higher level, with silky strings and sweeter sounding winds. Rubinstein was so pleased with this recording, that he issued a bold statement which appeared on the album cover: “In the rare coincidence of sound, balance, and performance of conductor, orchestra, and soloist, this is the most perfect recording I have made.”
Rubinstein recorded surprisingly little of Rachmaninoff’s music. Among that composer’s works, however, the Second Concerto had pride of place in Rubinstein’s repertoire. The pianist made his third, and final, recording of this work with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, which Rachmaninoff himself considered the world’s finest orchestra. Rubinstein does not play the Concerto’s outer movements with as much drive as in his earlier recordings. But the pianist’s exquisite tone, phrasing, and balancing of inner voices more than make up for any lack of virtuoso fireworks. (It should be noted that, at 84, Rubinstein still plays the work with more elan than most pianists half his age.) This rich, lush “Philadelphia Sound” that Rachmaninoff loved is very much in evidence here.