Customer Reviews

Horowitz Plays Scriabin

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Vladimir Horowitz was a champion of Scriabin's music long before it became fashionable, or even semi-fashionable. Scriabin's music appeared on Horowitz's programs as early as the 1920s.

Horowitz's first issued Scriabin recordings were made at his 25th Anniversary Concert in 1953 (also his last public recital until his famous comeback in 1965). The B-flat minor, and C-sharp minor Etudes are given more turbulent performances than usual. There is a great deal brewing beneath the surface. At times, it seems like Horowitz is trying to burst past his own flesh. The desperate passion of his performance lends credence to the notion that he was approaching a nervous breakdown.

The sixteen Preludes were recorded in 1956. (Actually, eighteen Preludes were recorded at these sessions, but two were placed on another album.) Horowitz chose to program the Preludes in a canny sequence of contrasts and surprises building to a climax, rather than sequentially. The Preludes start in the Chopinesque mode, becoming Wagnerian and epic, before dissolving into atonality - - revealing the scope of Scriabin's development.

The Sonata No. 3, also from 1956, is given a broadly phrased, brooding, Byronic performance. The relaxed pacing of the first movement allows Horowitz to move through the various "soul states" without splintering the structure. Contrast the way Horowitz plays the second movement, using the pedal to skillfully blend harmonies, to the way Askhenazy unimaginatively plunks the piece out. (In this movement, Horowitz makes a small cut in the score which actually improves structural clarity.) The transition between the third movement (truly an example of a musical "calm before the storm") is handled with exceptional skill, and Horowitz makes the last movement exciting without over stressing compositional points. Througout the Preludes and Sonata, the balance and poise of the playing speak volumes about Horowitz's post-1953 recovery.

Horowitz played Scriabin's Fifth Sonata during the 1975-1976 season. In his 70s, the pianist sacrifices nothing to age in the most orgiastic performance of this sensual piece ever committed to disc. Scriabin was synesthetic (meaning that he could hear colors) and the musical colors in this piece border on the lurid. This is easily one of the finest recordings from the pianist's late period.

The popular Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12, played as an encore at Horowitz's 1982 London concert, is given a performance which seduces before building to an explosive climax.

The sound varies, from a bit confined in the 1956 recordings (made in Horowitz's living room) to spacious in the stereo items.

I revere Horowitz as Scriabin's greatest interpreter. His natural interpretive tendencies, which deal heavily with sound and time effects, fall right into place in Scriabin's music. In fact, I think it is these inherent qualities of Horowitz' playing that leads him to be criticized elsewhere. These effects would not be possible, nor desirable in Beethoven, for one example. However, in Scriabin--he is absolutley unbeatable. Horowitz' incomparable and masterful manipulation of color and time present Scriabin in the most effective way. He does not try to transform Scriabin into a composer who writes with conventional direction. Scriabin's direction is not conventional. It is ethereal, and should be dealt with as such. Seize any opportunity to get Horowitz playing Scriabin quickly. This CD offers a Third Sonata that cannot be obtained elsewhere, and a Fifth Sonata recorded when he was a bit older. As such, it carries with it the appropriate characteristics of his playing at that age. It is not quite as good as his earlier recording, done in the 60's and released by Sony Classical. However, it still should not be missed. Even in his old age, Horowitz plays this piece like no other.

This CD is the product of a perfect combination. Horowitz is the greatest pianist of this century (especially when it comes to romantic and post-romantic music) and Scriabin is a genius of a composer. And everything on this CD is true to both of these giants' qualities.
When I first decided to buy this disc, Scriabin struck me as an interesting but rather radical composer, with some music stemming directly from the influence of the great romantics, and some the result of his own ideas and experimentations. The latter initially sounded too dissonant and sometimes even disorganized; however, after listening to some of the later pieces a few more times, they began to make perfect sense. To someone unacquainted with Scriabin's music, this will likely be the case with the Sonata #5 and a few of the last preludes. The other works here take less getting used to ,but in the end, the effect is essentially the same throughout. Scriabin's music is laden with raw emotion and reveals the mind and soul of a man with deep convictions, but who was ultimately tormented by the world around him (the basis for his music and his mystical beliefs). He would gradually move from a style heavily influenced by Chopin to one all his own. One can compare him to Beethoven in that both were fantastic pianists with an individual compositional style that could not fit into a rigid classification (classical, romantic, impressionist, etc.) much less be compared to the music of others before and after them. I find it both surprising and disappointing that Scriabin is not that well known (he is adeqautely revered perhaps only in Russia). Although a great deal of it is unconventional, there is a lot that one would find in Scriabin's music if they would only listen.
When Horowitz was ten years old, he met Scriabin who gave some advice to his mother about guiding the young pianist. Horowitz considered Scriabin to be a significant element of his own artistic being and had both an affinity and a deep understanding of Scriabin's music. These qualities would serve him well throughout his career, but are displayed to perfection here. The effect is deeply moving, and sometimes even frightening. Personally, I believe that this album is an ideal way to become acquainted with Scriabin's music because it encompasses almost the entire span of his career. For the price, it is also an exceptional bargain; in my opinion it could easily sell for more. I strongly recommend this disc to anyone who likes 19th (or 20th) century piano music, and especially to those who like Scriabin but have not heard these performances. They outdo most others including Horowitz's Sony (Columbia) recordings of some of Scriabin's works (those renditions, though somewhat inferior to this one, are still quite excellent as well). This album deserves a music lover's attention as it sums up the genius of both Horowitz and Scriabin.

This CD is the product of a perfect combination. Horowitz is the greatest pianist of this century (especially when it comes to romantic and post-romantic music) and Scriabin is a genius of a composer. And everything on this CD is true to both of these giants' qualities.
When I first decided to buy this disc, Scriabin struck me as an interesting but rather radical composer, with some music stemming directly from the influence of the great romantics, and some the result of his own ideas and experimentations. The latter initially sounded too dissonant and sometimes even disorganized; however, after listening to some of the later pieces a few more times, they began to make perfect sense. To someone unacquainted with Scriabin's music, this will likely be the case with the Sonata #5 and a few of the last preludes. The other works here take less getting used to ,but in the end, the effect is essentially the same throughout. Scriabin's music is laden with raw emotion and reveals the mind and soul of a man with deep convictions, but who was ultimately tormented by the world around him (the basis for his music and his mystical beliefs). He would gradually move from a style heavily influenced by Chopin to one all his own. One can compare him to Beethoven in that both were fantastic pianists with an individual compositional style that could not fit into a rigid classification (classical, romantic, impressionist, etc.) much less be compared to the music of others before and after them. I find it both surprising and disappointing that Scriabin is not that well known (he is adeqautely revered perhaps only in Russia). Although a great deal of it is unconventional, there is a lot that one would find in Scriabin's music if they would only listen.
When Horowitz was ten years old, he met Scriabin who gave some advice to his mother about guiding the young pianist. Horowitz considered Scriabin to be a significant element of his own artistic being and had both an affinity and a deep understanding of Scriabin's music. These qualities would serve him well throughout his career, but are displayed to perfection here. The effect is deeply moving, and sometimes even frightening. Personally, I believe that this album is an ideal way to become acquainted with Scriabin's music because it encompasses almost the entire span of his career. For the price, it is also an exceptional bargain; in my opinion it could easily sell for more. I strongly recommend this disc to anyone who likes 19th (or 20th) century piano music, and especially to those who like Scriabin but have not heard these performances. They outdo most others including Horowitz's Sony (Columbia) recordings of some of Scriabin's works (those renditions, though somewhat inferior to this one, are still quite excellent as well). This album deserves a music lover's attention as it sums up the genius of both Horowitz and Scriabin.

Several years ago, on a visit to Moscow, I had a chance to stop at the Scriabin Museum off the Arbat arcade and take in a recital. Horowitz's recording captures that atmosphere, of sitting in the warm drawing room of Scriabin's turn-of-the- century home, imagining what the premiere of his work must have been like to audiences who had never travelled to the harmonic world he created. That is what comes into my mind when I close my eyes and listen to this disc. Horowitz, you can tell, understood the sadness, the awe toward beauty and the determination of the human spirit that defines so many of Scriabin's works, and that the composer had to create never-before- heard harmonics to express in his own language. One of the final selections on this disc was recorded upon Horowitz's return to Russia for the first time in many years of self-imposed exile. The performance is stunning. It left me speechless for several minutes.It is one of those rare experiences where you can sense that artist inspiration has elevated a performance to a state of perfection ordinarily associated only with the divine.

This disc has more than enough thrilling piano playing to keep your adrenaline flowing for years to come. The music clips only hint at the manic intensity of the Etude op.45 #5 (Track 23) or the swell of passion of the Etude op.12 #12 (Track 24). Pianist Vladimir Horowitz was in a class by himself, and he truly succeeded in bringing out the poetry and fire inherent in the unique music of Scriabin. This disc is a perfect inroduction to Scriabin's piano music, Scriabin's music, or music.

It's impossible not to love this recording! I have for years, and it stands the test of time. I met Scriabin's music through this classic recording, played many of these pieces across the years, and return to it again and again as to a fountainhead. Say what you will about the art of Horowitz over the years, his handling of these Preludes and Etudes is inerrant. I've not heard another pianist play Scriabin with such intimacy and understanding, Richter included. The alchemy that was Horowitz's alone is in unpartitioned play from beginning to end. His inscrutable ear lets him choose one miniature masterpiece after another, each one vital to his master plan, in the end not only revealing Scriabin's mastery of musical thought, but giving us an indelible guide to Horowitz's own genius. If you want to understand the contribution of Horowitz, walk past his others straight to THIS Scriabin disc, AND the Horowitz Plays Scarlatti disc. For me, these two recordings provide unique evidence of this pianist's most revealing gifts. The B-major Prelude is beautiful enough to melt stone. This recording reminds me of Gould's recording of Byrd and Gibbons - unexpected and perfect, and impossible to live without. In a world on overload, the music made here is witness of a great art. Don't delay the indisputable experience.

Listening to this cd put me on a higher plane regarding beauty.
There is no doubt that I will purchase more of "Horowitz plays...". And these preformances are relatively inexpensive. And for such quality, that is a rarity.

Vladimir Horowitz has produced a masterpiece. Scriabin's music has never been, and never will be played this perfectly. From the soft pianissimos in the opening Sonata to the rapid octave passages in the final Etude, Horowitz shows both the beauty and the power that Scriabin should be. He truly brings the music to life. There will never be another pianist who will be able to duplicate Horowitz's work. He was a true athlete of the piano.

Reading over so many reviews gush with praise for Horowitz had me convinced that this CD was really something to behold in technique and interpretation of a great and subtle composer for the piano. While it has its moments, it is not altogether that impressive.

The 5th sonata at the beginning of the CD is well done, yet it lacks the necessary clarity and sensitivity. More than once, one can hear Horowitz really struggle with the sonata, especially at some climactic moments in the piece. Rather than a silky cascade of notes, one hears arduous banging that distorts the fragile yet exquisite melody. Perhaps the live crowd accounts for the inconsistency in playing; it certainly accounts for the fuzzy production. Luckily, they took care to cut out the applause at the end, something I wish they did with the other live pieces.

The etudes are the high point of the cd. Horowitz dutifully brings the necessary depth and skill to carry them off. It also helps that he recorded them in a studio. These aren't the most accessible pieces, but a fan of Scriabin would enjoy Horowitz's treatment.

The 3rd sonata plays out like the 5th one. It's beautiful but somewhat jumbled and plods along unevenly. The struggle isn't quite so apparent, but the ideal interpretation requires more strength and depth than Horowitz provides. Again, the recording suffers a tad from the fact that it's live.

The 3 last etudes are crowd pleasers and benefit from the fact. The last one is certainly overwrought and the applause give a rude awakening to the listener trying to savor the piece.

Overall, these are beautiful pieces and they aren't necessarily massacred. However, I think Horowitz enjoys more praise than he deserves. There are some other, lesser known, pianists that do better.