Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1829-1894) - the Russian pianist, composer, conductor, musical public figure. His preceptors were A. I. Villuan (piano), S. Dehn (theoretical disciplines). Rubinstein hit all marks as the greatest pianist ever heard. That was true dramatic force and mighty stamina to have imbibed his piano style. ''He was the most supernatural, brilliant executant, striking by spry spirit and inexhaustible poetical imagination, the one inherent to nobody but his elder contemporary and friend Liszt'' - wrote V. V. Stasov, the Russian musical criticist. Anton Rubinstein is also distinct for his educational activity. Such institutions as Vocal Academy (1858), Russian Musical Society (1859), Petersburg Conservatoire (1862) - the first one in Russia - were founded due to Rubinstein’s initiative. During the period of 1885-1886 there were held the cycles of ''Historical Concerts'' organized by Rubinstein via many European countries. Listeners had a chance to undertake the kind o f excursion to the very birth of clavier music on the border of the 16th-17th centuries and follow the piano music evolution together with Rubinstein. The outstanding master’s heritage embraces operas (secular and ecclesiastic ones), oratorios, the ballet, 6 symphonies, piano concertos, violin concerto, 10 string quartets, 5 piano trios, piano quintet, numerous vocal compositions and piano pieces.

As to the five piano concertos they refer to the period of 1850-1874. Rubinstein seemed to ''nurse'' and nurture large-scaled instrumental forms thus anticipating the later apexes attained by the Russian composers in the piano concerto genre. The Fourth Concerto for piano and orchestra was marked by such distinguished executants as Nikolai Rubinstein, Hans von Bülow, Anna Yesipova, Feruccio Busoni, Sergei Rachmaninov and others. Even nowadays it’s widely and frequently performed. The Concerto 4 D minor, op. 70, dates 1864, having been issued in 1866. Subsequently the author inserted