Search - Sergey Rachmaninov, Fritz Reiner, RCA Victor Orchestra :: Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff/Concerto for Piano in Dm; Sonata for Piano No2/Vladimir Horowitz, Pianist

One of the great pianists playing the music of his friend

Craig Matteson | Ann Arbor, MI | 09/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I treasure this disk. The opening groan and crash of the huge Sonata #2 is a great piece of pianistic writing and sets up the rest of the sonata so well. However, the way Horowitz plays it is so convincing and so unique, in my experience, that it seems as if it is being improvised on the spot and just pouring white hot from Horowitz. The is breathtaking pianism. This is a version created by Horowitz from two versions by Rachmaninoff with some other changes by the pianist. Since he and the composer were close friends and Rachmaninoff was a mentor to Horowitz, I trust this version. And in the final analysis, it is very effective.The three smaller works and quite nice and are more than filler. I especially like the Prelude Op. 32 No. 5. This recording of the Concerto #3 was made in 1951 and the recorded sound has more noise and a less full sound than most listeners today enjoy. But I encourage you, I implore you, to do yourself a favor and hear this recording. It is brilliant beyond words. It is Horowitz at the peak of his powers. Yes, the later Ormandy recoding sounds better, but Horowitz has lost a bit of what he had in 1951. It is a performance for the ages. It is one of the greatest of all pianists in one of the major works of the literature at the height of his virtuosity with the great Fritz Reiner leading the orchestra. Fabulous."

The majesty of Horowitz

pianoman | new york | 01/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Musicians are reluctant to give rankings. We want to separate the classical music world from the hyped world of MTV top tens and USnews school rankings. Since this is the case why are so many pianists assert and reiterate the glory of Horowitz among 20th century pianists. After all if we are going to deviate from our tendency not to rank we should at least substantiate why Horowitz is so special.

If one dwells on it for a second the physical act of playing the piano boils down to brain finger coordination. The brain sends a message to the finger what to do next - where to move, how soft to touch the key, etc. It is extremely hard to reach a very high level of coordination. For example, if someone had 100 percent brain hand coordination in basketball they would never miss a shot.

Horowitz brain-finger coordination is just phenomenal (there are many examples of this and a classic one in my opinion is his playing of Etincelles). Imagine telling a pianist to play a 20 minute piece ONLY in pianissimo but still continaing crescendos and decrescendos within the pianissimo. For 99.9 percent of pianists, and even the great ones, this would be impossible. At some stage during this hypothetical piece they will accidentally stray into mezzo forte (or some other level). TO BE ABLE to play with such softness for a prolonged period of time is unbelievably hard because you need complete control of the fingerwork.



Critics often miss the mark when talking about Horowitz. They look at isolated concerts or recordings during his very long career that are flawed ( and admittedly Horowitz did have ups and downs). The crux of the pianist's talent lies in what he could do at the piano when he reaches the summit of his ability. If one looks at Horowitz' output within a larger context things look different.



Let me conclude with comments of the famous pianist, William Kappell:

"I'm so weak from tears and shouting, that I can hardly write.... I just heard Horowitz here in Pasadena, playing the 3rd Concerto of Rachmaninoff. The man is such a genius of the piano that it seems inhuman to play like that.... He is not a pianist, he is a magician."

Eloquent and Succinct."