Horowitz Rediscovered

Has anyone listened to Horowitz Redicovered yet? It includes a complete Carnegie Hall Recital (Nov 16, 1975), and the piece de resistance is the Sonata in f minor Op. 14 by Schumann (dubbed Concert sans orchestre). Can someone compare this with the previous released RCA version of this sonata please?

Thanks

Andrew See

The previous version seems to be a mosaic of different performances. On Rediscovered one hears what the public once heard. It sounds far more driven than the previous version but it misses many great moments.

Henk

I heard him play that Schumann Sonata in San Francisco, and this new issue seems more like what I heard than did the previous one (which, oddly, may well have included portions of the performance I attended).

This issue is an enormous disappointment. 'ReDiscovered', indeed!

The only piece on the whole recital in which Horowitz seems to come to life is the D major Etude-Tableau. I cannot imagine a more galvanizing performance of that item, which used to figure dozens of times at each and every Tchaikovsky Competition, where the contestants have to perform four etudes, one each by Chopin, Scriabin, Liszt and Rachmaninoff.

The rest of the recital is overwrought - Blumenstuck withers under Horowitz's heavy-handed 'expressivity'.

But BMG is asking a lot for one Rachmaninoff ET, I feel.

Now, if they had a really copy of the Boston recital from 1969, I might get much more excited. Horowitz in his prime, even as heard through the inferior cassette-based sonics that exist.

Tom Deacon

letters to be typed in

Except that Sony would have the rights to that one. And it's pretty obvious just how committed they are to classical music these days!

Good to see you in this group Tom,

As usual you are a bit too negative about Horowitz - IMHO, of course.

I rather did like his Liszt this time - and was surprised by his Schumann sonata.

What I cannot stand is the eternal return of the same encores - and the same Chopin.