WLADIMIR HOROWITZ - Perfection and Soul
Vladimir Horowitz was revered both as a “demon” and a “keyboard god” - and has remained unique among pianists to this very day. He was also deemed a ”magician“ and “hyper-virtuoso“ - and the rage of his interpretations, which often bordered on the extreme, has been compared to natural phenomena like tornados, thunderstorms and volcanic eruptions. Horowitz‘s playing was technically - awless and was - lled with exuberant verve and unprecedented opulence - but also left room for poetry and spirituality. This compilation features recordings made between 1931 and 1957 and boasts several highlights
from the Ukrainian pianist‘s repertoire - including, of course, Franz Liszt‘s Sonata
in B minor and further works written by Liszt for solo piano plus Rachmaninov‘s Piano Concerto No. 3, a selection of Chopin pieces, Beethoven‘s Appassionata as well as piano concertos by Tchaikovsky and Brahms conducted by the ” maestro furioso“ himself, Arturo Toscanini. The selection of works corresponds to the wide spectrum of his repertoire and ranges from works by Bach to Barber - and from Scarlatti to Scriabin.
CD1
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini (1941)
LISZT: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6
SAINT-SAENS: Danse macabre (1942, 1950)
CD2
RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 3
RACHMANINOV: Prelude op. 23, 5
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner (1931, 1951)
KABALEWSKY Preludes op. 38 (Excerpts)
MUSSORGSKY Over The River
PROKOFJEW Toccata (1947)
CD3
LISZT:
Piano Sonata in B minor
Funerailles
Rakoczy March
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Au bord d’une source
Valse oubliee Nr. 1
Sonetto del Petrarca Nr. 104
(1932, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1953)
CD4, CD5
CHOPIN:
Piano Sonata No. 2
Barcarole op. 60
Ballade Nr. 4
Polonaise Nr. 7
Etudes op. 10,4; 10,5; 10,8; 25,3
Valse op. 34,2; 64,2
Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante, and more
(1932-35, 1945, 1947, 1951-53)
CD6
BEETHOVEN: Piano Sonatas op. 10, 3; 57 (1959)
CD7
BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2
NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini (1940)
CD8
D.SCARLATTI: Piano Sonatas K 46, 87, 322, 380, 455, 531
MOZART: Rondo Alla Turca
HAYDN: Piano Sonata Hob. XVI:52
MENDELSSOHN: Variations serieuses
BACH: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
(1946-47, 1951)
CD9
KABALEVSKY: Piano Sonata No. 2
BARBER: Excursions (Excerpts)
DEBUSSY: Etudes I, 1, 4, 6
DEBUSSY: Serenade Of The Doll (1945, 1947, 1948)
CD10
SCRIABIN: Piano Sonata No. 3, Preludes (1955, 1956)
