RUBINSTEIN A Life

Here is an offering from Books on Tape that one wishes some more ambitious publisher had issued. Not that it will bore or offend you. It deals with a fascinating subject--pianist Artur Rubinstein. But one yearns for the aural detail, excerpts from his recordings and sound tracks, that would bring his artistry to life. As in many BOT nonfiction titles, the narrator, in this case Harvey Sachs, reads like a robot, pushing for clarity but investing no personality whatsoever. Fortunately, he at least pronounces all the foreign names and technical terms correctly and even knows what they mean. Y.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]