Horowitz

[ignaceii]

Hi,

I would shortly like to sort of put in debate the importance of Horowitz for the last century, and this in terms of repertoire.
When I encounter a recital by Horowitz, I almost see every time, Haydn, Scarlatti, Schumann, Rachmaninov.
Of course there is Chopin, and only because of his Kabalevskies he earns gold for me. Scarce are the pianists forgetting the teachers of their heroes.
Myaskovsky, Kabalevsly, Taneyev,...
But that debate has been done i hope.
Only 5% of the composers young and old, at the most are played.
Big is the flinter thin paged book in 2 volumes of 3000 pages describing all piano music. Not only I have them, but also a young pianist carrying the volumes everywhere around, as he recorded all the piano works of Lyapounov.
Those are the heroes.

Back to Horowitz.
Rach 3 of course
Brahms 2
Beethoven 1
Surely a Liszt.

But so scarce. He recorded Prokofiev sonatas, our late romantic, but I found not 1 concerto.

Bref
Everyone is short of appraisals.
I think myself. Ok. But, there were much more rich in repertoire and even performance.
I heard 2 eme hungarian rhapsody by Liszt.
A big mud of notes and chords. Not my taste.
Cziffra would deliver a sprankling clean interptetation.
And others too.

Horowitz was excentric yes, But without vision and poor repertoire.
Richter was excentric  mystic, poetic, virtuoso, ok Horowitz too but he could have shown much more in Prokofiev. Even Kabalevskies concerto.
Where are his Shostakovitcn preludes and fugues. Difficult ye s
All etudes transcendantes de Liszt. Maybe, ok.

Richter in Schubert leaves you breathless.
Not Horowitz.

And charge your guns now. I don't give a sh*t.
Julius Katchen used to give 3 concertos in 1 evening.
Not Horowitz. He knew too little.
But I praise him for putting Kabalevsky, Clementi on the stage.
But it didn't last.

His free interpretations are also not without any criticism.
And a pianist, performing all Beethoven Symphony transcriptions by Liszt, including the tremendously difficult 9th symphony , C. Katsaris has been neglected.
This man played more than the repertoire of at least 3 pianists.
And great...

Well. I go for Katsaris. The man deserves far more than he got.

Shoot

[ronde_des_sylphes]

Katsaris is a *great* pianist, I think one of the greatest techniques of all time, and superior technically to Horowitz, imo.

Re Liapunov (who I really like), I assume you are referring to Florian Noack.

The Horowitz "2nd Hungarian Rhapsody" is, of course, his arrangement, not the Liszt original.

[ignaceii]

Thank you.
His rhapsody ended in total crazyness.
Then is E. Bozhanov , on the contrary, unrightful controversed, a few levels up although sitting down as Glenn Gould.
What is the matter Polish juries dismiss a genius, not seen in many years, including Trifanov, in favour of those endless streams of Asians, who, with all respect, can never act as a cultural medium musically between European, invluding Russia, composers and the actual world.
Juries should judge blindfold.
Horowitz, in his own right, was not the equal of a Cziffra, Hoffmann, and others. A phenomenon due to the media and the political context.

[cuberdrift]

Let us never forget, that Horowitz also COMPOSED!