Horowitz: The Last Romantic

List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $10.12
You Save: $3.86 (28%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.02 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases

Music CD Cover

Free Music Notes for Horowitz: The Last Romantic

Free Music Review: Hear the origins of modern music -
Hit: 5 Stars

Then there is Horowitz. Before Horowitz, I could not discern the intent of classical music. But with Horowitz, you hear not only the notes but also the intention behind the notes, it's as if Horowitz is a master operator behind the glass booth, and he controls the technical facilities necessary to produce the sound with no effort, making it bend to reflect his every nuanced emotion. With Horowitz you hear emotion and personality; is it how Mozart, or Chopin, would have played it? Who knows, could be. Maybe not, but it has a depth and complexity that brings the music to life.

And of course there is Horowitz's famous touch and technique. Fully revealed on this disc.

But it is the program that really knocks me out. The first track is a Bach Choral Prelude, which sounds like its name implies. Peaceful, reflective, and then finally moving to a heart wrenching poignancy anchored by left hand octaves. Next comes a three part Sonata by Mozart. Here we can picture a Viennese ball, with singing and dancing. Music full of exuberance and joy in the first and third sections, and calm reflection in the second, with some fairly strong opinions stated with the help of left hand octaves. This is classical music at its finest.

The hammer drops with the third selection (fifth track), Chopin's "Mazurka in A minor". The tempo is uncertain, the chords have only a few close notes, and the first phrase seems tentative and unfinished. Modern music! Completely neurotic, and in stark contrast to the Mozart that preceded it. The melancholic ruminations give way to a tranquil melodic section which is then called up short, and then repeats, and then is ended with a sharply stuck dissonance; the remainder of the piece is completely unsettled, with the dominant emotion changing every few bars. This piece could be played in a piano bar today, and reminds me of Bill Evans' "Peace Piece".

If the "Mazurka in A minor" was the anguished neurotic of modern music, the next piece, Chopin's "Scherzo in A minor", is the raving lunatic bouncing off the asylum walls. This music reflects wild abandon. Two handed banging, with ferocious runs and arpeggios. The first section is a rollercoaster ride. This music is as wild as any modern jazz, and in fact, it sounds to me (a big Coltrane fan) like Trane could have copped some of his licks from this piece. The second section is, as I understand, taken from a Polish Christmas song. This time Chopin plays it straight, a calm in the midst of the storm, a beauty you can feel. But, the storm does return before the piece ends. This may have been one of the pieces written in the aftermath of a failed love affair.

To me, the two pieces by Chopin represent the beginning of modern music. I don't think you'll find a better recording of them than this disc.

Horowitz: The Last Romantic Poster

Classical Music CDs

• Music > Styles
• Dance & Electronic