Search - Sergey Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, New York Philharmonic :: Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3/Sonata No.2

A Superb Horowitz Reissue

Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 06/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The version of Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto was originally recorded live in January of 1978 and released about three weeks after the concert. By rushing the LP into stores, RCA was able to cash in on the publicity of Horowitz's Golden Jubilee, but the sound on the original release was very poor indeed. The piano was miked too closely, and the orchestra mix was very poor. The CD released in the mid-1980s was a great improvement over the LP, but the sonics were problematic there also: The piano was mixed down too severely and seemed to recede behind the orchestra in some passages. This new High Performance reissue is a vast improvement over both earlier versions. The balance problems have been solved, and both piano and orchestra have a much warmer, deeper sound. The dynamic range has been greatly opened up--the final timpani THWACK at the end of the Concerto is quite startling.



As for the performance, this remains my sentimental favorite--even though Horowitz was in better shape in the 1951 version with Reiner than he was in 1978. (He was 74 when this recording was made.) There is something about Horowitz's phrasing, his ability to vary the tempo without losing hold of the basic pulse, and his mixing of inner voices that seems so right. It is more than mere piano playing, it is the art of PERFORMANCE. Bringing the music to life is more than putting the right finger in the right place at the right time--and Horowitz was a master of this elusive art. The Rachmaninoff Third Concerto was undoubtedly the greatest piano concerto of the 20th century, and this is my desert island performance--warts and all.



The Sonata was recorded in concert in 1980. Horowitz plays his own "compromise" version of the Sonata--which is an improvement over the rambling 1913 original and emasculated 1931 editions. It's a pity that no Horowitz Performing Edition was ever published. Personally, I prefer Horowitz's lithe, pantherlike 1968 recording on Sony to the brooding, moody performance heard here. The sound on the Sony disc is also superior, but RCA has again improved the sound over earlier issues. The piano sounds warmer and less tinny, and the dynamic range is greatly increased.



This disc is a must for all piano enthusiasts."

Not the icon that it seems

Jeffrey Jones | Northern California, USA | 05/30/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"It would be too cruel to say that this disc can only be enjoyed by those with poor taste. I don't want to disparage those listeners who find that they like this recording, which features two of the most celebrated performers of Rachmaninoff - pianist Vladimir Horowitz and conductor Eugene Ormandy, both of whom knew the composer intimately and collaborated with him. The first time I listened to this CD as a young musician in search of inspiration, I was impressed, too. Subjectively, the old maestros Horowitz and Ormandy can have quite an impact. And as other reviewers have said, it is certainly more pleasant to listen to than the very shoddy original record released 3 weeks after the performance.



Objectively, though, and by the standards of piano playing today, this recording ranks among the worst ever made. The problems are numerous and overpowering, and they compound upon one another to produce a vile concoction. Even the sympathetic David Dubal, a good friend of Horowitz's and the editor of Remembering Horowitz: 125 Pianists Recall a Legend, wrote that this performance was "marked by excess and self-absorbed melancholy." Some of these problems are: a crass, harsh pianistic tone that sounds like the hammers were filed to a point to sound as percussive as possible; a dire lack of either forward drive or convincing languor; only the most tenuous of connections between pianist and conductor; and wrong notes all over the place.



The severe lapse in quality, compared with his great recordings from the '30s and '50s, is characteristic of his work from the late '70s. Horowitz was always temperamental; at the height of his fame in the '50s, he suddenly withdrew from performing. A decade later, he re-emerged, already sixty-two years old, and re-launched his career with the same force that had come with his emergence in the '20s as a virtuoso of astonishing ability. From there he enjoyed many productive years, but by the late '70s, he had started to decline. He aged, as everyone does, and wrestled with health problems. By 1982, he was a shadow of himself, heavily medicated and suffering severe memory lapses, but a period of recuperation saw him give some of the most amazing recordings of Mozart, Schumann, and Scriabin in the final years of his life. But before that, unfortunately, he left a Liszt Sonata, some Schubert Impromptus, a Chopin First Ballade, and a Rachmaninoff Third Concerto which are deplorable.



The Horowitz of 1965 who had been so good at assimilating the entire content of the score was replaced with an artist in a fat-Elvis period, no longer able to hold his concentration and forced to compensate with fireworks. It all rings false, and does no favors to the music he plays. Instead of this, by all means, hear Horowitz's earlier recording with Fritz Reiner. The same performance of the Sonata from this CD is also on that disc, so you can still decide for yourself whether you agree with me. Even if you don't like the 1980 Sonata, though, the 1951 Concerto is excellent, worlds apart from this 1978 recording, and well worth the price. There are also some appealing encore pieces included on that disc which are absent here, so all in all, it's clearly the better choice.



I can assume this will not be a terribly popular review, because Horowitz is - rightly - one of the sacred cows of the pianistic world, but to this listener, this disc is the nadir of Horowitz's output, and its popularity is puzzling and unfortunate."

The first recording I heard of the 3rd - an AMAZING sonata

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

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rachmaninoff was a great friend and mentor to Horowitz and they shared an affinity for melody, beautiful sound, wide dynamics, huge range of tonal colors, and drama. I think this is a very beautiful recording of the concerto. Though not as brilliant as the recording he made with Reiner in 1951, it sure is a better sounding recording. It isn't that there is anything wrong with it, in fact it is brilliant, it is just that this older Horowitz had lost a bit on his fastball as it were. But this is the recording, in its original LP release, is the one that I first heard this concerto and fell immediately in love and it still holds a tremendous amount of magic for me, especially since it is a live performance. However, if you want to hear the peak of the Horowitz virtuosity get the RCA Victor Gold Seal Disk #7754. It has the same recording of the Sonata, but adds some smaller works. It is worth everything just for the recording of the Concerto #3 even if you duplicate the sonata.The sonata is also a fabulous live recording. The opening massiveness with its crash and roar is a pianistic sound I have never heard any other pianist make as convincingly in any place at any time. It is absolutely unique in my experience and the whole performance is blindingly wonderful. Horowitz has not only fused two versions that Rachmaninoff played, he also made some other changes he felt the composer would approve. I believe him.Be aware that even in live recordings, Horowitz would edit together multiple performances and could be very demanding in approving the final version.Get this disk and enjoy these pieces. It is great pianism and I believe it is something you should want to have in your collection."