Horowitz Plays Schubert

[Rivernuggets]

I really like how he gets comfortable, takes the room in, looks around, then begins.  Beautifully played.

 

[LarryC]

To me, that melody, harmony, and counterpoint are like a great spoken oration meant for the ages.

 

I like the great fun and happiness he shows in how he removes his hands from the keys after the last note.

Edited September 19, 2016 by LarryC

[LarryC]

This Impromptu has six flats!  It's from the first set of two, both written the year before his death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impromptus_(Schubert)

[Rivernuggets]

4 hours ago, LarryC said:

This Impromptu has six flats!

Here's me with six flats:

[Rivernuggets]

12 hours ago, LarryC said:

I like the great fun and happiness he shows in how he removes his hands from the keys after the last note.

It's cues like that which make him seem like a gentle, sincere person.  I've watched other pieces from this concert and want the video.  Amazon has it on VHS only......?

[LarryC]

60 Minutes had a very good segment on Horowitz several years ago, which brought out his personality IIRC.

[Rivernuggets]

Been trying to find this performance to own.  There is a DVD collection on Amazon for $130 which includes the Vienna concert, but there doesn't seem to be a stand alone release.  

Ended up buying it on laserdisc for $6 off the Bay.  Bought a laserdisc player locally for $20 and transferred it last night with my brother's help.  Now I just need to edit it down to individual tracks.  Fun stuff!

[LarryC]

I see the collection that includes a Vienna concert (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-vladimir-horowitz-the-video-collection/23661377), but don't see the G-flat Impromptu that was shown in this thread.  Is there a collection with that one?

 

Thanks,

[Rivernuggets]

That's the same release I found on amazon.  Here is a link showing the contents of the Video Collection.  Scan down to 4-6.  Looks like G-flat Impromptu is included on the Vienna disc.

https://www.discogs.com/Vladimir-Horowitz-The-Video-Collection/release/6086871

[LarryC]

You've got a mighty sharp eye there!  D-catalog no. looks right, etc.  Maybe I'll get it because there's so much in the album.  How's the quality?  As good as the download posted on the forum?  Same one?

[Rivernuggets]

I can't comment on the quality of the DVD collection, but it's got to be the same performance as the above youtube video.

Here's part of a review of the video collection on amazon:

"Horowitz's May 1987 recital in Vienna's famed Musikverein was the second-to-last of his career - and the last visual document of his playing (he continued to record until 1989). The sense of repose that marked his later playing is most in evidence here - particularly in the Andante of Mozart's K. 333 Sonata, and Schubert's G-flat Impromptu - a remarkable demonstration of Horowitz's ability to sustain a melodic line even at a slow tempo. Schumann's Kinderszenen is remarkably simpler than the 1982 London performance, and more poetic by far. Horowitz brings a sensual flirtatiousness to the middle section of Chopin's B minor Mazurka, while the octaves of the A-flat Polonaise are as bouncy as ever - if a bit slower. Incidentally, there is no extra-musical program here: Horowitz simply walks on stage, performs his program, and leaves - to tumultuous applause, of course."

 

He also comments on the video quality of the various performances and is generally not impressed.  Here it is under 'poor quality production...'

https://www.amazon.com/Vladimir-Horowitz-Video-Collection/dp/B0064GKEXC#customerReviews

[Rivernuggets]

Larry, PM sent.

[LarryC]

Thanks.  Fine detective work!  I'll probably get it, since it has so many works and seems to be a rare record of his performances.  Too bad VH wasn't more interested in leaving a visual legacy -- like Carlos Kleiber, greatly admired but spotty visual and recording heritage.