Horowitz: The Private Collection, Vol. 2

Vladimir Horowitz, a Champion of Modern Music?

Starting in 1945, Vladimir Horowitz engaged the Carnegie Hall Recording Company to record thirteen of his solo recitals in that venue. He paid for the recordings himself, and discontinued them after 1950, when RCA began recording his concerts there. Horowitz would listen to the 78RPM and long-playing discs from time to time, usually with of one of his students. He seems to have lost interest in them in the 1960s, and they were stored away in the top floor of his New York townhouse. In 1986, while he was getting his affairs in order, he came upon the discs and donated them to Yale, alma mater of his friend and record producer Tom Frost. After Horowitz died in 1989, Frost listened to all thirteen recitals, and realized that the performances merited public release. In the end, it was decided to release only compositions which were not otherwise in Horowitz' discography, two CDs worth of material. Volume One of The Private Collection covered composers from Bach to Rachmaninoff. Volume two contains works by 20th Century composers, all but one of whom Horowitz knew personally.

The three works from Book I of Debussy's Etudes are performed spotlessly, with less use of the sustaining pedal that is customary with these pieces.

Horowitz was one of Prokofiev's early champions, and gave the American premiers of the so-called War Sonatas (6, 7, and 8) and made the world premiere recording of the Seventh Sonata. Horowitz posted the first copy of that recording to Prokofiev, who sent in return a signed copy of the score, inscribed "to the miraculous pianist from the composer." Unfortunately, Prokofiev was never able to hear these recordings of the two short excerpts from his Cinderella Suite. But, one feels he would have echoed the same sentiment.

Horowitz also knew Poulenc, who so admired the pianist that the composer dedicated several works to him. The two short works performed here are played with a simple elegance and restraint which belies the idea that only Frenchmen can play French music.

During the late 1940s, Horowitz performed Dmitri Kabalevsky's music extensively giving the American premiers of the Second and Third Sonatas. Horowitz performed several of the preludes from Op. 38, and one of those traversals are included here. The pianist conveys their diverse moods with total authenticity. Horowitz' performance of the Second Sonata, recorded at that work's American premiere, goes beyond mere stunning virtuosity to an abandon which borders on insane. His performance of the first movement's march has an almost brutal drive and power, while the finale is staggering in its barely contained exuberance. Hearing this performance, one understands Toscanini's contention that Horowitz was the worlds greatest pianist, "because what he can do is superhuman." (In 1986, during his Russian tour, Horowitz visited the aging composer, who died one year later.)

It was Toscanini who introduced Samuel Barber to Horowitz, in the 1930s, and they remained friends until the composer's death in 1981. This recording is of Horowitz' performance of the New York premiere of Barber's Excursions, Op. 20 (No. 3 is missing because Barber couldn't complete it on time). No. 1 is played in a straightforward fashion, with no fluctuation in tempo, giving the lie to those who said Horowitz could not play directly. The second Excursion finds VH uncomfortable with its' "slow Blues" idiom. But he soon recovers for the "hoe-down" rhythm of no. 4. The harmonic piquancy of the piece has the audience giggling at the work's conclusion

The sound varies considerably, from the faded Barber to the nearly pristine Prokofiev. Horowitz played some of these recordings relatively often, while others he apparently ignored. Since Horowitz' copies of these recordings are the only ones known to exist, we have to accept them, surface noise and all. At least we have the comfort of knowing the scratches were made by the Maestro himself.     August 19, 2001

Classic, But Don't Start Here

It's hard to give Vladimir Horowitz anything less than four stars. He is truly one of the great pianists of the 20th century, if not all of history. "The Private Collection, Volume 2" culls more previously unreleased material from Horowitz Archives at Yale University. This volume features live recordings from Carnegie Hall made between 1945 and 1949, including the New York premieres of Kabalevsky's Piano Sonata No. 2 and Barber's Excursions, op. 20. Horowitz's performances are masterful, however the sound quality overall is poor, which is my reason for withholding a fifth star. In order to preserve the fidelity of the original 78 masters, RCA did not use extensive methods to reduce surface noise. As a result there is a lot of background hiss which will undoubtedly bother audiophiles. If you can get passed it, the music's timeless. September 3, 2000

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