Horowitz Schumann

This is a very fine sampler of Horowitz's Schumann - surely one of the great interpretative acts of the last century? It is at least one of the greatest - probably the greatest - performance(s) of Kinderszenen around; Horowitz's almost frightening ability to give life to these pieces is inimitable, and the poetic depths and shadows of various nuances he brings to the more reflective pieces is peerless. It is, quite simply, an almost perfect performance. He is no less impressive in the other works either; the Fantasie is beautifully shaped and wonderfully played.

This is an extremely famous recording by Vladimir Horowitz who brings out the tenderness and madness of his subject, Schumann being one of his favourite composers. In here we can hear Schumann remembering his happy childhood, yearning for love, and aching for a peace away from the torment of his mind.

The complete set of Vladimir Horowitz’s DG recordings in a single box, including Horowitz in Hamburg from 2008 and three bonus tracks only previously available on the compilation The Magic of Horowitz.

Vladimir Horowitz possessed freakishly superb technical equipment, plus inspiration and a mercurial imagination that caused him to never play the same work twice in the same way. There has been no greater writer of pianistic works in the history of the instrument. There was never a better ear for piano color, and his performances usually succeeded in giving a work "the stamp of approval" causing his contemporaries to begin programming works he chose to champion. The was, and is, nobody who can imitate Horowitz, for his genius was truly a never ending source of inspiration.

Box set containing sonatas performed by the pianist Vladimir Horowitz. As well as the tracks listed it also includes 'Sonata in B Minor' by Franz Liszt, 'Concerto Without Orchestra' by Robert Schumann, 'Andante Moderato' from 'Sonata in F minor, K466' by Domenico Scarlatti, 'Sonata in E-Flat Major for Piano, Hob.XVI:49' by Joseph Haydn, 'Sonata Quasi Concerto, Op. 33, No. 3 in C Major' by Muzio Clementi and 'Sonata No. 21 in C Major for Piano, Op. 53, 'Waldstein'' by Ludwig van Beethoven, amongst others.

Vladimir Horowitz confined himself mainly to the Romantic repertoire of the nineteenth century, particularly Schumann, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Chopin (in whose music, especially perhaps the mazurkas, he was held by many to be peerless). Horowitz recorded for RCA from 1927 to 1962 and for Columbia/CBS/Sony thereafter. The repertoire of this release includes Bizet’s Carmen variations, his arrangement of Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever, the Rákóczy March, Scarlatti and Clementi’s sonatas, as well as works by Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Moszkowski.

One of the pleasant surprises of the first decade of the twenty first century was the way pianist Angela Hewitt developed from one of the most celebrated of Bach specialists into an all-around first-class performer in a much wider range of repertoire. Take her 2007 disc with Schumann's Humoreske with his Piano Sonata No.1 in F sharp minor. While one might have expected clarity and drive from Hewitt, who had long mastered those qualities in Bach, the evident passion and fantasy reveal new aspects of her playing, especially in her F sharp minor Sonata, which sounds like an ardent musical bildungsroman. Her Humoreske, similarly, has the poetic imagination and the lyrical fervor characteristic of great German romantic poetry. As on her Bach recordings, Hewitt's tone is pearly, her technique formidable, and her interpretations combine thoughtfulness with spontaneity. Recorded by Hyperion with winning warmth and an uncanny sense of immediacy, this disc will delight Hewitt's fans and enlarge Schumann's discography by one excellent disc.