Horowitz: Discovered Treasures

Read About This Recording

There is no shortage of recordings by the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, but his repertoire was so vast that record companies occasionally come across previously unreleased material. This new disc is a case in point and the result is a diverse program of short works by composers for which Horowitz had a particular affinity.

Six Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti begin the program. Horowitz plays them with incredible brilliance bringing forth a full, resonant sound as his fingers fly through the tricky, rapid-fire passages.

On June 12, 1969, Horowitz recorded Busoni's deeply moving arrangement of Bach's Chorale Prelude Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ. In contrast to the speed of the Scarlatti, here the performance relies on profundity and the contemplative inner nature of the music. Horowitz succeeds brilliantly.

Muzio Clementi was a prolific contemporary of Beethoven's who is wildly overshadowed by the other composers of his era, but much of his piano music is delightful. Horowitz was a champion of Clementi's music as is proved by the four excerpts presented here.

The three Chopin pieces compiled on this disc were recorded during an eight-year span between 1963 and 1971 when he recorded the famous Raindrop Prelude. This is tender Chopin at its best; romantic without being sappy.

Works by Nicolai Medtner and Alexander Scriabin, composers whose music often made their way onto Horowitz's recital programs, precede the final track on the disc: Liszt's Consolation in E Major. Horowitz weaves a magic carpet of sound, playing this contemplative piece with a style that could make you believe that he was improvising as he went along.

In simplest terms, this is an extraordinary collection of treasures by an extraordinary artist.

-Jacob Anthony

Contents

1993 Grammy