Horowitz: The Last Romantic

Vladimir Horowitz does an excellent job of performing the numbers on this album. All of the years of his experience at the key board come to play on this album. On track two, the first movement of Mozart’s piano sonata, Horowitz demonstrates great fluidity as he plays the melody line of the sonata. The second movement of the sonata is played with a depth of feeling that is rarely demonstrated. The sound quality is also superb here; the volume and the pitch of the piano appear to be just what it needs to be. For years, Horowitz hid his talent in the shadows; this album marks his final coming out from relative obscurity to prominence. I highly recommend this album, in that it gives the listener a wide-ranging overview of Horowitz’s skills at the piano.

Great recording for certain pieces on here, especially the first one. This is not Horowitz's best playing, but it is very original. Even if you heard this recording for the first time and were familiar with most of Horowitz's other recordings, you would surely be easy to say "that is Horowitz." I highly recommend this, but don't expect technical perfection - just very individualized interpretations.

So happy to find this great Horowitz piano recording!

I shall not attempt a critique of the recording. Suffice it to say, the CD is a wonderful addition to my collection of Horowitz recordings. The playing condition of the CD is excellent. I would definitely use this seller again.

I love this CD

Excellent. This recording contains some new material for me and I have a lot of Horowitz recordings.

Horowitz is fabulous

The career of Vladimir Horowitz had many ups and downs. When he retired after a series of disastrous concerts in 1983, very few thought he would ever play again. It was learned that Horowitz was off his game during that time due to anti-depressant medication which affected his memory and coordination. Horowitz dropped the medications in 1984, and spent much of that year enduring withdrawal symptoms. He didn't begin practicing again until late-1984.By 1985, he felt well enough to begin performing again, but didn't want to immediately face a live audience. It was decided that a documentary would be made, and thus "Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic," filmed in the pianist's townhouse, came to fruition. The performances in this CD are taken from that film, although in some cases different takes were used.Horowitz, 81 years young at the time, plays well here - although his performance is not quite on the same level it would be one year later at his legendary Moscow recital. The Bach-Busoni Chorale, Mozart Sonata, and Schumann Novelette reveal the playing of a grand master in sovereign command of his resources. The Bach-Busoni is especially noteworthy for Horowitz's ability to separate musical lines. The Chopin Mazurka and Liszt Consolation are wonderfully poetic, and the Rachmaninoff Prelude is appropriately brooding.It must be admitted however, some of the more bravura pieces do not match his best playing from earlier years. The Chopin Scherzo betrays hints of frailty (although some of the tempos are astonishing), and the "Heroic" Polonaise is taken at a rather cautious tempo. Any doubt about the coordination of Horowitz's fingers, however, will be banished by the Moszkowski Etude. Lightning fast, with very little pedal, the pianist reportedly did it in one take.The sound is rather airless and confined, but clean and focused.