Horowitz: Legendary RCA Recordings

We Say...

Review by John Schaefer

Whether you're a veteran Horowitz fan or just trying to find out more about the old guy at the piano in that U2 video for "Window in the Skies," this compilation will have something for you. Disc One consists of two complete concertos: first, the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto #1 in a version once considered definitive and even now crackling with the excitement of Toscanini's conducting, which threatens to drive both pianist and orchestra off the rails. Then, the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #3 in the 1951 recording with conductor Fritz Reiner. "Rach 3," as its known, is essential Horowitz — he recorded the piece several times but this version strikes the right balance of great performance and acceptable recording quality. You'll want to download all three movements regardless of whether you're an expert or a newbie. (And regardless of whether you're a Rachmaninoff fan — Horowitz is just that convincing.)

The second disc is an interesting and largely successful attempt to show the breadth of Horowitz's repertoire, the concert showpieces that his wider reputation was built upon, and the particular composers whose music he loved — especially Chopin and Scriabin. Highlights here include Horowitz's own musical calling card, the "Variations on a Theme from Bizet's Carmen;" the three Scriabin preludes, all played with a hint of danger and darkness as befits this once-scandalous and still-controversial composer; and the evergreen Chopin Nocturne #2 in E Flat. For former piano students scarred by forced marches through the works of Muzio Clementi, the Clementi Capriccio in C is likely to be a very pleasant surprise; Horowitz was one of the few champions of his music. Ditto for Moritz Moszkowski, the Polish pianist/composer of the turn of the century whose small but action-packed pieces provided Horowitz with "Etincelles," a favorite encore.