RCA's Horowitz/Chopin Grab-Bag
This CD reissue contains all of Horowitz' stereo RCA Chopin recordings, along
with a few mono items.
Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasy was a Horowitz specialty for many years. He was
playing this piece as far back as the 1920s, when few pianists dared to touch
such a structurally complex work. His best recording of this piece remains the
1966 version taped lived in Carnegie Hall. This can be found on Volume 3 of
Sony's complete Horowitz issue. The 1982 version is among the most mannered
playing Horowitz ever approved for commercial release. The phrasing and metric
pulse sag, and the piece fails to cohere.
Chopin's Ballade in g minor was another piece Horowitz played constantly. Again,
his best version of this work can be found elsewhere, including Volumes 3 (1965)
and 4 (1968) of the Sony set. The aforementioned problems are also in evidence
here. In addition, some of Horowitz' playing is technically sub-par, with an
awkward coda that sounds banged.
Horowitz' treatment of the nocturnes was his least successful Chopin playing.
Instead of letting the works unfold simply and naturally, as Arthur Rubinstein
did, Horowitz felt the need to soup-them-up with distorted phrasing and exotic
voicings. This group of four nocturnes, recorded in 1957, are further sabotaged
by "under the lid" microphone placement.
Horowitz recorded the Barcarolle several times. His 1980 live recording contains
the typical Horowitz mannerisms of that period, with an erotically charged coda.
The old charmer is present for the "Black Key" Etude, while the
c-sharp minor Etude is given rather perfunctory treatment.
Horowitz seemed more at home in Chopin's Ballade #4 than he did in the first
Ballade. The phrasing, dynamics, and dramatic build up are just so "right"
here, that one can scarcely imagine a better performance--even with the
occasional minor slip of finger.
The Chopin Waltz combines both--very different--editions of Chopin's text, with
perhaps a dash of Horowitz' melancholy.
The sound quality varies, which is understandable considering the range of
recordings times and venues. These performances have already received multiple
releases on CD. One wishes RCA would do Horowitz' memory a real service--instead
of merely exploiting it--and undertake a full Horowitz reissue as they've done
for Rubinstein and William Kapell.
© Hank Drake
This page is part of The Vladimir Horowitz Website
http://w1.854.telia.com/~u85420275/index.htm
Copyright © 2002 Christian Johansson