Vladimir Horowitz - The Indispensable

RCA Victor: 74321 63471 2

CD 1

Frederic Chopin
1. Polonaise Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op.61

Domenico Scarlatti
2. Sonata in A-flat major, K.127 (L.186)
3. Sonata in B minor, K.87 (L.33)
4. Sonata in E major, K.135 (L.224)

Sergei Rachmaninoff
5. Humoresque, Op.10 No.5

Frederic Chopin
6. Scherzo No.1 in B minor, Op.20
7. Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.10 No.4

Moritz Moszkowski
8. Etincelles, Op.36 No.6

Sergei Rachmaninoff
9. Prelude in G minor, Op.23 No.5

Frederic Chopin
10. Nocturne, Op.9 No.3

Franz Liszt/Vladimir Horowitz
11. Hungarian Rhapsody No.2

Frederic Chopin
12. Nocturne, Op.27 No.1
13. Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.31

Moritz Moszkowski
14. Etude in F major, Op.72 No.6

Vladimir Horowitz
15. Variations on a theme from Bizet's Carmen

CD 2

Franz Liszt/Ferruccio Busoni/Vladimir Horowitz
1. Mephisto Waltz No.1

Frederic Chopin
2. Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op.60

Alexander Scriabin
3. Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.2 No.1

Sergei Rachmaninoff
4. Prelude in G major, Op.32 No.5

Frederic Chopin
5. Nocturne in E minor, Op.72 No.1

Alexander Scriabin
6. Etude, Op.8 No.7

Sergei Rachmaninoff
7. Barcarolle, Op.10 No.3

Frederic Chopin
8. Polonaise in A-flat major, Op.53

Vladimir Horowitz
9. Rákóczy March (after Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No.15)

Alexander Scriabin
10. Etude in D-sharp minor, Op.8 No.12

Frederic Chopin
11. Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.25 No.6
12. Ballade No.1 in G minor, Op.23

Alexander Scriabin
13. Etude in C-sharp minor, Op.42 No.5

John Philip Sousa/Vladimir Horowitz
14. The Stars and Stripes Forever

An Effective Horowitz Grab-Bag

The recordings in this 2-CD set cover a span of 40 years of Horowitz' career, and demonstrate nearly all of the great pianist's virtues and shortcomings.

On the plus side, there are his elegant performances of Scarlatti, recorded live in spectacular digital sound in 1981. Hearing Horowitz play the baroque composer, one is easily convinced of the pianist's argument that this music needs the piano--and a master pianist--to bring it to life.

Several of Horowitz' legendary Liszt arrangements are here, also. Most successful are his arrangements of Liszt's warhorse Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (where, among other things, Horowitz plays all three themes at once) and his leonine version of the Rakoczy March (which sounds more like Berlioz' orchestration than Liszt's piano version). Somewhat less successful is the Mephisto Waltz (recorded in concert in 1979): demonic it is, but with many technical baubles.

Horowitz' Chopin was always a mixed bag, and so it is here. Why RCA chose to include the pianist's 1982 versions of Chopin's Polonaise-Fantasie and First Ballade is incomprehensible. Horowitz was in ill health and heavily medicated when these recordings were made, and the performances suffer badly. More noteworthy are two Scherzos and other short works recorded in the 1950s.

The Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Moszkowski pieces are wonderful examples of Horowitz doing what he did best, tossing off Romantic piano music with electric elegance, and the occasional bit of divine madness. But the highlight for many will be the last work on this set, Horowitz' own arrangement of Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever. How two hands could produce such sonorities is still a thing of wonder.

The sound varies, understandably considering the various recording dates. Some reverberation has been added to the drier mono recordings, but they needed it. It is hoped that RCA will stop tantalizing us with bits and pieces from their vaults, and give Horowitz the red carpet treatment they recently afforded Arthur Rubinstein. Horowitz deserves no less.

© Hank Drake

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