Customer Reviews

Horowitz Plays Mussorgsky, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and others

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A very good CD, but some of the titles are also on the Encores CD, and all the titles except the Rachmaninoff (recorded in 1979) are in mono. Besides the Rachmaninoff, the recording dates range from 1928 (whew!) to 1956. That said, this is Horowitz! It's great! I'd pay the money for the Prokofiev and Danse Excentrique alone. I just want to warn you that this is not the crystal-clear CD sound we're used to.

Here is the "essential" playing of Vladimir Horowitz at his peak in live recordings from concerts in 1943 and 1951. First, there is the historic war bond concert in 1943, when Toscanini conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra in an all-Tchaikovsky program that included the "Nutrcracker Suite No. 1," the sixth symphony, and his first piano concerto. Joining Toscanini and the NBCSO in the concerto was Horowitz in a performance that exceeds the studio recording of 1941. This is electric, dazzling playing and Toscanini provides superb orchestral backing. The powerful orchestral interlude in the first movement has seldom sounded more dramatic and exciting. There is also great sensitivity in the serene second movement; there is only a brief section where Horowitz and the orchestra get a bit off-kilter. The final movement is absolutely dazzling. No wonder the Carnegie Hall audience stood and cheered.

Horowitz did his own arrangement of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." It is easy to forget that Mussorgsky wrote this as a piano piece and never orchestrated it. This gets down to basics and Horowitz provides an almost symphonic rendition of the original score. All of the familiar movements are played flawlessly and with considerable brilliance. There are some charming moments, too, and at one point the audience seems to snicker as Horowitz captures the essence of a more whimsical section. It all leads to the terrifying "Baba Yaga" and the triumphal "Great Gate of Kiev." This is a very exciting performance, taken from a memorable 1951 Carnegie Hall recital.

The sound on these recordings has been digitally reprocessed. Fortunately, RCA Victor did not resort to any clever "gimmicks" and we hear clear high fidelity sound that faithfully captures the performances.

Horowitz is amazing as we have all come to expect, but at the time that Mussorgsky's PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION was recorded, recording techiniques had not been perfected as they have today. The rest of the CD is outstanding. If you are a Horowitz fan, I highly recommend this recording.

'Pictures', recorded in 1947, suffers from heavy surface noise, but the performance itself is Titanic, extremely exciting and inspiring.

Scriabin Etude Op.2, No.2, Preludes Op.11-5 and Op.22-1 (recorded in 1950/1956 in very good mono) are played with incomparable depth of feeling and tonal subtlety. Sonata No.9 'Black Mass', beautifully recorded live at Carnegie Hall in 1953, is played with the magical delicacy and the real demonic edge, displaying the pianist as a supreme Scriabin interpretor.

Danse excentrique, composed by the pianist at the age of 18, is a jazzy little piece which sounds half Gershwin and half Prokofiev. Tchaikovsky's Dumka (recorded in 1942) is the only Tchaikovsky piece Horowitz ever recorded aside from Piano Concerto and is played with dazzling dexterity and deep poetry.

Bizet/Horowitz Carmen Variations (recorded in 1928) and the third movement of Prokofiev's 7th Sonata (played as an encore piece at Carnegie Hall in 1953 and much better recorded than the complete version recorded earlier) display Horowitz's most daring, risk-taking pianism.

Rachmaninov's Humoresque and Barcarolle, recorded in 1979, played in the typically grand and electrifying style. A lovely performance of Debussy's Serenade to the Doll from 'Children's Corner' suffers from background noise. A flamboyant performance of his own arrangement of 'Stars and Stripes Forever' closes this collection.

If you love Horowitz, this is a must-buy, as it contains many of the most dazzling and deeply felt performances in entire Horowitz discography, despite the varying sound quality.

Total playing time 75:53

Pictures at an Exhibition is of course wildly popular in its orchestral version but, great as Ravel's version is, after listening to the original piano version played by Horowitz you will realize it is even better. This is Horowitz at his absolute peak, playing at times with a demonic intensity that is frightening, a technical perfection that is astonishing (the crescendo and decrescendo as the ox cart approaches and then slowly rumbles off is utterly profound and evocative), not to mention a sense of beauty. The finale is so remarkable it sounds like an entire room of pianos is playing. For 1941 the recording sounds remarkably good, although of course it is not as clear as a modern digital recording.

If you like Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto#1 and haven't listened to this recording yet, then you should listen to this one. Compared to Van Cliburn's recording, Horowitz's recording is somewhat rigid yet incredibly powerful (only surpassed by his later version with Szell). Similar to Argerich's recording, this recording is also breathtaking (Just listen to the ending finale, you will know what I mean). One drawback of this recording is mono sound (recorded in 1940's).

Horowitz's rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition caused fervor controversy because purist thought that Horowitz tampered the music. In response, Horowitz said that he don't give a damn (Ha Ha). He believed he did a good job of amplifying and utilizing piano potential of the music that even Mussorgsky, the composer, was not able to realize. I think Mussorgsky would have been very proud of what Horowitz did.

Wonderful, a lovely piece of music, a must have in any music collection, classic or otherwise. Vey good value for money.

Horowitz famous 1951 recording of Pictures at an Exhibition, made at a live performance at Carnegie Hall, is as thrilling as it is perceptive.Mussorgsky's darker colours are admirably caught and the lighter, scherzando evocations are dazzilingly articulated.In the Great Gate of Kiev, Horowitz embellishes the texture to make the result even more spectacular.The piano sound is a bit shallow, the quality however is a great improvement on the previous vinyl transfer.Horowitz famous wartime Carnegie Hall recording of the B flat minor Concerto has since remained the yardstick by which all subsequent versions have been judged.Somehow the alchemy of the occasion was unique and the result is unforgettable.In spite of the Carnegie Hall ambience, the recording is confined and lacking in bass.Such is the magnetism of the playing however, that the ear soon forgets the sonic limitations.Toscanini's accompanyment is remarkable not only for matching the adrenalin of his soloist (particularly in the visceral thrill of the finales climax),but for the tenderness he finds for the lyrical passages of the first movement.The powerful cadenza becomes its apex, with one passage in which there seem to be two pianists in duet, rather than just one pair of human hands. Toscanini's moments of delicacy extend to the Andantino, which is truly Semplice, even when accompanying the coruscating pianistic fireworks of the central section. The finale carries all before it, with Horowitz's riveting octaves leading to a tremendously exciting statement of the big tune before storming off furiously to the coda.Both of these performances are therefore definitive and have never been equalled let alone surpassed.This review is intended for those that know the difference between Victor Borge and Vladimir Horowitz and have gone past the 3rd grade.If your main concern is state of the art sound with a demonstration category quality, this review will have little meaning.

When rare artistic event becomes part of your everyday home life one is very grateful to buy this "ageful" DVD.

Alfred Cortot established better than no one , the mean character of Horowitz when he was requested about his opinion between Vladimir Horowitz and Edwin Fisher. Fisher is a amn who uses the piano to play music while Horowitz employs the music to play the piano.

In these clever words , Horowitz through the years kept the greatness but without intensity ; and that is the central point of his career .

The virtuosism is a double edge weapon . His incisive style shocked the crowd and the gallery public in those years in Carnegie Hall , his partnership with Arturo Toscanini remarked his musical gifts ; but I never found beneath the Horowitz performances the sense of expressiveness and nuance ; the scope behind the score ; the demanded cosmovison , the technique literally invaded all the corners of his interpretations . and so my initial wonder was leaning downward through the time .

In the Tchaikovsky performing there is efervescence but the soul of the intimate world , the coudy shadows of the russian m oods and the disturbed emotional of the composer simply it is absent . And that is a real fault . Because the easier is to make of this work colossal fireworks .

These pictures of exhibition express the most high caliber firework , they are unmatched level but the question still remains it enough to break a record to be a good artist or performer?