The True Sound of Horowitz

As someone who heard Horowitz in recital (Boston, October 19, 1986, I will never forget that day) I can report that this CD comes closer than anything else I have heard to the real thing. This is a demonstration quality disc for piano fans.

Schumann's Kreisleriana was a Horowitz specialty. The interpretation here is freer, looser structurally than his 1969 recording. For me, the earlier version is still unmatched in its concentration and the laying bare of Schumann's duality--in my opinion it remains Horowitz' finest solo studio recording. But this 1985 version also has a lot going for it--the tempos are so flexible, without losing the basic meter; and the phrasing is just so "right."

Thus is it with the rest of the recording. This is some of Horowitz' most romantic Scarlatti playing, almost as if Scarlatti were a baroque Chopin--not as outlandish as it seems, as Chopin adored Scarlatti's music.

The Liszt Valse Oubliee was another Horowitz specialty, he recorded it at least three times officially, this one is my favorite. Horowitz captures Liszt's mystical eroticism in a way few others have matched. The Impromptu from 1872 is rarely played, and hearing it one understands the comment that Horowitz can get forty colors from a piano by striking two keys.

The Scriabin Etude is the central romantic pivot in this recital. Horowitz plays it differently here than in earlier recordings, beginning quietly and building to a stunning climax.

The Schubert Impromptu is played with more flexibility than we would hear from such modern interpreters as Brendel. But past Schubert specialists like Schnabel didn't feel the need to be human metronomes to reveal the structure of the piece. Horowitz imbues the piece with that long lost quality known as charm, and the running scale passages in the final variations are as well balanced as a string of pearls. The Military March is rather like Horowitz' arrangement of Stars and Stripes Forever, but at somewhat lower voltage. Still, it is a dazzling delight, and a rousing conclusion to a marvelous recording.