Horowitz Plays Schumann

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
These are live recordings from the mid to late '70s. Horowitz' legendary technique may be less than pristine, but his mercurial temperament burns brighter than ever. He melds Schumann's unwieldy, difficult to sustain Concerto Without Orchestra (Sonata #3) into a coherent whole, with the famous third movement variations providing lyrical relief from its turbulent surroundings. Horowitz probes the inspired but diffuse Humoreske for all its expressive potential, and finds hidden drama in the shorter works. The brightly-voiced piano Horowitz favored at this time is harsh in the higher register, although his trademark booming basses hit you like a kick in the belly. Horowitz admirers need no urging to acquire this disc. --Jed Distler

Amazon.com
As much as I may admire Vladimir Horowitz's pianism, I often don't find his interpretations illuminating. The Schumann Sonata heard here, though, is one of Horowitz's greatest interpretations on records. He seems to identify completely with the music, pulling its diverse aspects together with great emotional conviction and giving us the greatest performance of the piece I have ever heard. It's all the more puzzling, then, that he plays the Humoreske with such a lack of conviction,... read more

Horowitz Plays Schumann

Horowitz Plays Schumann, Music, Robert Schumann, Vladimir Horowitz, Classical, Classical Music, Keyboard, Keyboard Work with Descriptive or Unclassified Title, Romantic Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard

Average customer rating: A Problematic Horowitz CD

Horowitz Plays Schumann Manufacturer: RCA ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Robert Schumann | Schumann, Robert | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Sonatinas | Sonatas | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Horowitz at the Met Clementi: Keyboard Sonatas Horowitz Plays Mussorgsky, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and others ASIN: B000003EQ5 Release Date: 1989-08-10

Tracks:

1. Concert Sans Orchestre: Grand Sonata No.3, Op. 14 In F Minor: Allegro Brillante
2. Concert Sans Orchestre: Grand Sonata No.3, Op. 14 In F Minor: Scherzo: Molto Commodo
3. Concert Sans Orchestre: Grand Sonata No.3, Op. 14 In F Minor: Quasi Variazioni: Andantino De Clara Wieck
4. Concert Sans Orchestre: Grand Sonata No.3, Op. 14 In F Minor: Prestissimo Possibile
5. Humoreske, Op. 20: Einfach
6. Humoreske, Op. 20: Sehr Rasch Und Leicht
7. Humoreske, Op. 20: Noch Rascher
8. Humoreske, Op. 20: Hastig
9. Humoreske, Op. 20: Nach Und Nach Immer Lebhafter Und Starker
10. Humoreske, Op. 20: Einfach Und Zart
11. Humoreske, Op. 20: Intermezzo
12. Humoreske, Op. 20: Innig
13. Humoreske, Op. 20: Sehr Lebhaft
14. Humoreske, Op. 20: Mit Einigem Pomp
15. Humoreske, Op. 20: Zum Beschluss
16. Fantasiestucke, Op. 111: Molto Vivace Ed Appassionatamente
17. Fantasiestucke, Op. 111: Piu Tosto Lento
18. Fantasiestucke, Op. 111: Con Forza, Assai Marcato
19. Nachtstucke, Op. 23: No. 3 In D-Flat
20. Nachtstucke, Op. 23: No. 4 In F

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

A Problematic Horowitz CD.......2000-04-03

The Schumann Sonata in F minor consists entirely of outakes (listening to the original LP, which I have, confirms this) and is not what Horowitz authorized for release. The performance is overdriven, mannered, and riddled with many mistakes.

The Humoreske, recorded in 1979, is another story. This is some of Horowitz' finest Schumann. Horowitz masterfully molds Schumann's varied moods, or "humors" and builds them into a coherent whole. This performance has drawn the praise of such disparate interpreters and Pollini and Horszowski.

The Nachstucke and Fantasiestucke were recorded in 1980, and the piano is voiced a bit less brightly here than in the other pieces. The performances are fine, but not on quite the exalted level of the Humoreske.

All of these recordings were assembled from concert performances taped from 1976-1980. The sound throughout the disc is rather hard and airless, which is pretty much the kind of sound RCA was giving all their artists at the time. Remastering has improved the sonic picture somewhat, but this is no match for the fine recordings DG made of this artist. RCA should thouroughly remaster and repackage ALL of the Horowitz recordings and give him the red carpet treatment they recently gave Arthur Rubinstein.

Average customer rating:

Horowitz Plays Bach/Busoni, Scarlatti, Mozart, Schubert, Liszt, Scriabin, Chopin, Schumann, & Rachmaninov Vladimir Horowitz , Bach , Mozart , and Scarlatti Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000E4PV Release Date: 1990-11-10

Average customer rating:

Vladimir Horowitz Plays Horowitz , Tchaikovsky , Schumann , and Steinberg Manufacturer: Archipel ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music ASIN: B000065DUQ Release Date: 2002-04-16

Tracks:

1. Piano Concerto N.1 In B Flat Minor Op.23: I. Allegro Non Troppo E Molto Maetsoso
2. Piano Concerto N.1 In B Flat Minor Op.23: II. Andantino Semplice
3. Piano Concerto N.1 In B Flat Minor Op.23: III. Allegro Con Fuoco
4. Sonata L.23
5. Etude Op.72
6. Traumerei
7. Stars And Stripes Forever
8. Piano Sonata In E Flat Major (Hob. XVI:52): I. Allegro
9. Piano Sonata In E Flat Major (Hob. XVI:52): II. Adagio
10. Piano Sonata In E Flat Major (Hob. XVI:52): III. Finale: Presto
11. Piano Sonata In C Sharp Minor Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': I. Adagio Sostenuto
12. Piano Sonata In C Sharp Minor Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': II. Allegretto
13. Piano Sonata In C Sharp Minor Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight': III. Presto Agitato

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