Why did Horowitz only perform and record Bach-Busoni rather than just Bach?

[classicalnhiphop]

just was curious as to why he did this, not saying he never played authentic Bach, but majority of it was Bach-Busoni
bonus question: is Bach-Busoni considered Baroque?

[j_menz]

There wasn't really that much Bach-Busoni that he did either.

He did record the Toccata BWV 911.

He said he didn't perform more Bach in concert because he felt it was "too small" for a concert hall. I think he meant both acoustically, and in it's intimate nature.  That's not an excuse for the lack of recording, but I guess he largely recorded what he concertised.

There are a number of other great transcribers of Bach that he ignored completely.

And the Bach-Busoni is definitely Bqaroque, though it requires a romantic/post romantic technique.

[liszt1022]

What looks like Busoni's "extra notes" in his transcriptions of organ works are just his way to represent the stops of an organ (like adding octaves or 5ths.) So if he were around to ask, he'd say they're straight transcriptions, not free arrangements. They count as baroque just fine.

One I really like is Prelude & Fugue in E-flat, on this CD (which is amazing start-to-finish)
https://www.amazon.com/David-Stanhope-Plays-Chopin/dp/B0000507YE/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1381759165&sr=8-7&keywords=godowsky+passacaglia

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Because Bach-Busoni is better than just Bach.

I think of it as this...

Bach is the Broccoli of music, and Busoni decided to steam it, add a little bit of salt, and a little bit of cheese to it.

So it's not as bad as just Bach.  You catch my drift?

[cabbynum]

Because Bach-Busoni is better than just Bach.

I think of it as this...

Bach is the Broccoli of music, and Busoni decided to steam it, add a little bit of salt, and a little bit of cheese to it.

So it's not as bad as just Bach.  You catch my drift?

HAHAHAHA
That is perfect!!!
I like that a lot

[classicalnhiphop]

Just wondering, Rach forever, why do you dislike Bach so much? I actually like him alot and he's prolly my second favorite composer behind Beethoven lol

[j_menz]

Because Bach-Busoni is better than just Bach.

I think of it as this...

Bach is the Broccoli of music, and Busoni decided to steam it, add a little bit of salt, and a little bit of cheese to it.

So it's not as bad as just Bach.  You catch my drift?

Spoken like someone who hasn't played enough "just" Bach, and no Bach-Busoni whatsoever. 

[nyiregyhazi]

His Bach c minor toccata is mostly rather good. Some attribute it as Bach Busoni but it sounded like the original to me.

[j_menz]

His Bach c minor toccata is mostly rather good. Some attribute it as Bach Busoni but it sounded like the original to me.

If it's not the original (and I agree it sound very much like it) it's not Bach-Busoni, as Busoni never transcribed or "arranged" BWV 911.  There is a Max Reger version, though I don't believe Horowitz is using that.