Horowitz in Moscow
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Free Music Notes for Horowitz in Moscow
Free Music Review: The CD captures a historical event in music
Hit: 5 Stars
There are famous historical events in music that resonate down through the centuries; the debut of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the premier performance of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring that resulted in a riot in Paris. The return of Russian-born Vladimir Horowitz to Moscow on Sunday, April 20, 1986 was such an event. After 60 years, one of the world's greatest pianists returned to play for his former homeland. It was big news. It still is.This cd is a recording of the live event, and opens with the Scarlatti E Major Sonata. Horowitz championed the music of Scarlatti and played it as no one else ever had, so this is a wonderful piece to begin with. But it's the Scriabin that I come back for, time and again, to listen to this CD. There are two etudes on this album (Op. 2#1 and Op. 8 #12.) All the romance, transient dissonance, moodiness and melodic richness of Scriabin are here, played by a pianist whose sound is like no one else's. Even if you aren't an afficionado of music history, this is an important CD as it is a live performance and has a really good representative selection of the Horowitz type of repertoire, from Rachmaninoff, Scriabin to Scarlatti, Liszt, Schumann (another Horowitz speciality) and even a Moszkowski showpiece. This is piano history at its pinnacle.
Free Music Review: much, much more than just a concert...
Hit: 5 Stars
Circumstances combine to make this one of, if not the most, memorable recitals of all time. The return of the most famous living pupil to the Moscow Conservatoire after an absence of sixty years, the return of an emigre to the Soviet Union from the United States and the global political tension present between the Superpowers at the time of the concert mean that, in buying this cd, you are buying a piece of musical history.The two Scarlatti sonatas on this cd are enchanting in their simplicity but, for me, the highlight of the concert are the pieces by the Russian composers. The two Rachmaninov sonatas are utterly beautiful but the performance of the two Scriabin studies is breathtaking - Horowitz manages to impart to these studies a feel and an atmosphere that I have never heard captured by any other performer. Given the personal link between Horowitz and Scriabin, that is perhaps understandable.
Buy this cd if you are at all interested in classical piano music - you will find little else that is in the same class as this.
Free Music Review: Piano for Everybody!!! Greatness Plays Greatness!
Hit: 5 Stars
This recording is SO significant because it marks the return to the USSR of Vladimir Horowitz after 50 years of estrangement. Yes, he came to New York in 1928 and now it's 1978 and he's back among listeners who really know and love his playing. You can hear one guy in the audience who's continually overcome with emotion during the applause. The little Scarlatti sonata is so simple and yet so engaging. It makes us amateurs want to run to get the score and learn it. The Scriabin etude is soooo sad and compelling and deeply felt. The Mozart Sonata is just the best. I'm so fond of the brightness of its third movement. Some think Mozart is boring and he can be but not here!
I campaign against the stuffiness of some "classical" music radio stations. Those who feel superior because of their tastes are no friend to the art of music. This CD will appeal to anyone who listens. It's just great music played by a great man.
Free Music Review: The Horowitz Magic Is Heard On This Disk
Hit: 5 Stars
This was an important event - much like the Stravinsky return to Russia in the sixties. A great musical artist returns home after too long a time away. While these pieces are not the titanic Horowitz of earlier decades the magic is still there.I was fortunate enough to hear him perform live three times. What I learned from those experiences was that he had more tonal colors on the piano than any other pianist I have ever heard. He also had more shades of dynamic than anyone else. His pianissimo was amazingly soft and yet it filled the whole auditorium. And when he called on his power the piano roared, but the loud seemed so loud because his quiet was so quiet.
Every one of these pieces has a lot to recommend it, but I think the best tracks on this disk are the Rachmaninov, the Scriabin, and the Moszkowski. Russian speaking Russian to other Russians.
I never want to forget how magical Horowitz really was.
Free Music Review: Magical, simply magical
Hit: 5 Stars
Truly one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, Vladimir Horowitz fled the Communist oppression of his native Russia in 1925 and settled in America. Six decades later, Horowitz was finally given the opportunity to return to his native land for a much-anticipated concert tour, in which he performed a series of electrifying concerts for standing-room-only audiences in Moscow and Leningrad. The result was this Grammy-winning album which is a must for any serious fan of classical music. From the thunderous chords of Mozart to the delicate notes of Scarlatti, Horowitz gives a performance of such elegance and emotion that some members of the Russian audience were crying at the sheer beauty of the music. You will, too.