Horowitz: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon (6 CD box set, APE)

Performer: Vladimir Horowitz
Orchestra: La Scala Theater Orchestra
Conductor: Carlo Maria Giulini
Composer: Ferruccio Busoni, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Moritz Moszkowski, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 6 CD box set
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Size: 1.08 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
01. Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland, transcription for piano (after J. S. Bach, BWV 659; Ten Chorale Preludes No. 3), KiV B27/3
Composed by Ferruccio Busoni
with Vladimir Horowitz
02. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (K. 300h) 1. Allegro moderato
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
03. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (K. 300h) 2. Andante cantabile
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
04. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (K. 300h) 3. Allegretto
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
05. Mazurka for piano No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17/4, CT. 63
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Vladimir Horowitz
06. Scherzo for piano No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20, CT. 197
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Vladimir Horowitz
07. Impromptu for piano in A flat major, D. 899/4 (Op. 90/4)
Composed by Franz Schubert
with Vladimir Horowitz
08. Consolation, for piano No. 3 in D flat major “Lento placido”, S. 172/3 (LW A111a/2/2)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
09. Novellette for piano in F major, Op. 21/1
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Vladimir Horowitz
10. Prelude for piano No.23 in G sharp minor, Op. 32/12
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Vladimir Horowitz
11. Etude for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 2/1
Composed by Alexander Scriabin
with Vladimir Horowitz
12. Polonaise for piano No. 6 in A flat major (“Heroique”), Op. 53, CT. 155
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Vladimir Horowitz
13. Etude for piano in F major, Op. 72/6
Composed by Moritz Moszkowski
with Vladimir Horowitz

CD 02
14. Kreisleriana, 8 fantasies for piano, Op. 16
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Vladimir Horowitz
15. Sonata for keyboard in B minor, K. 87 (L. 33)
Composed by Domenico Scarlatti
with Vladimir Horowitz
16. Sonata for keyboard in E major, K. 135 (L. 224)
Composed by Domenico Scarlatti
with Vladimir Horowitz
17. Impromptu (Nocturne), for piano in F sharp major, S. 191ii (LW A256)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
18. Valse oubliee, for piano No. 1, S. 215/1 (LW A311/1)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
19. Etude for piano in D sharp minor, Op. 8/12
Composed by Alexander Scriabin
with Vladimir Horowitz
20. Impromptu for piano in B flat major, D. 935/3 (Op. posth. 142/3)
Composed by Franz Schubert
with Vladimir Horowitz
21. Marche Militaire for piano, 4 hands in D major, D. 733/1 (Op. 51/1)
Composed by Franz Schubert
with Vladimir Horowitz

CD 03
22. Sonata for keyboard in E major, K. 380 (L. 23) “Cortege”
Composed by Domenico Scarlatti
with Vladimir Horowitz
23. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (K. 300h) 1. Allegro moderato
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
24. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (K. 300h) 2. Andante cantabile
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
25. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K. 330 (K. 300h) 3. Allegretto
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
26. Prelude for piano No.16 in G major, Op. 32/5
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Vladimir Horowitz
27. Prelude for piano No.23 in G sharp minor, Op. 32/12
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Vladimir Horowitz
28. Etude for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 2/1
Composed by Alexander Scriabin
with Vladimir Horowitz
29. Etude for piano in D sharp minor, Op. 8/12
Composed by Alexander Scriabin
with Vladimir Horowitz
30. Soirees de Vienne, valse caprice for piano No. 6 (I; after Schubert D. 969 & 779) S. 427/6 (LW A131/6)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
31. Sonetto del Petrarca No. 104 (Pace non trovo; II) for piano (Annees II/5), S. 161/5 (LW A55/5)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
32. Mazurka for piano No. 21 in C sharp minor, Op. 30/4, CT. 71
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Vladimir Horowitz
33. Mazurka for piano No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7/3, CT. 58
Composed by Fryderyk Chopin
with Vladimir Horowitz
34. Kinderszenen No. 7 (“Trдumerei”), for piano, Op. 15/7
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Vladimir Horowitz
35. Etincelles, for piano, Op 36/6
Composed by Moritz Moszkowski
with Vladimir Horowitz
36. Polka W.R., for piano in A flat major, TN ii/18
Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov
with Vladimir Horowitz

CD 04
37. Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performed by La Scala Theater Orchestra
with Vladimir Horowitz
Conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini
38. Piano Sonata No. 13 in B flat major, K. 333 (K. 315c)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz

CD 05
39. Piano Sonata No. 3 in B flat major, K. 281 (K.189f)
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
40. Adagio for piano in B minor, K. 540
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
41. Rondo for piano No. 1 in D major, K. 485
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
with Vladimir Horowitz
42. Moment musical for piano in F minor (“Air russe”), D. 780/3 (Op. 94/3)
Composed by Franz Schubert
with Vladimir Horowitz
43. Stondchen, Leise flehen meine Lieder, transcription for piano (after Schubert D. 957), S. 560/7 (LW A49/7)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
44. Soirees de Vienne, valse caprice for piano No. 7 (after Schubert D. 365) S. 427/7 (LW A131/7)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz
45. Soirees de Vienne, valse caprice for piano No. 6 (I; after Schubert D. 969 & 779) S. 427/6 (LW A131/6)
Composed by Franz Liszt
with Vladimir Horowitz

CD 06
46. Piano Sonata No. 21 in B flat major, D. 960
Composed by Franz Schubert
with Vladimir Horowitz
47. Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) for piano, Op. 15
Composed by Robert Schumann
with Vladimir Horowitz

Now a Sensational Bargain for Horowitz Fans!

For reasons perhaps reflecting what may very well be a coming collapse of classical music pricing and distribution, bargains of an almost too good to be true nature continue to emerge on Amazon. This certainly is one! With the already very reasonable price slashed by half, you can now purchase all six Horowitz discs making up his recordings for DG for a little over twenty-five dollars. It’s a buyer’s market!

This set includes the famous Moscow Concert, a number of selections of pieces Horowtiz did very well, including Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Scarlatti, and Scriabin, and even includes a Mozart Concerto, with large-scaled backing by Giulini. By this time in his career Horowitz plays more reflectively; the huge passionate outbursts of his salad days, with thunderous dynamics and blazing tempos are not the main attraction. One should absolutely not expect the reincarnation of, say, live concerts with Horowitz and Toscanini! Instead, perhaps channeling late Liszt, Horowitz seems at his best here when playing music requiring reflection and poetry.

Of course, this IS still Horowitz the virtouso – despite his age at the time of these recordings, around eighty – there’s still plenty of pyrotechnics, though I find them more careful, and with a few bald spots showing through when he strives for more full sonorites and explosions. Opinions differ on the DG sound – Horowitz apparently never made life easy for the engineers, and there is some variance here, with some of the results not at all the equal of the best modern recordings.

If you don’t yet have the Cd of the legendary return to Moscow Concert, or any of Horowitz’s other late DGs, this is a great chance to hear them at an extremely modest cost.