Rating: 
Summary: Masters unite!
Review: After sixty years Horowitz finally returns to his homeland to give one of his most astonishing and emotionally inclined performances. He touches upon every nuance of classicism as well as romanticism. His angelic delicacy when he performs scarlatti and mozart are heavenly, yet he is not recognized enough for this soft poetic side of the baroque period. As his fingers tinkle and tumble on the sweet notes his hands turn to mush and lovingly stroke the notes, almost as if to say farewell to a love, his only love. Horowitz so often said that he had only one love, the piano. As he finishes the Mozart and Scarlatti he races into the virtuosos, Liszt, Chopin, Rachmanninoff, and Scriabin. No one, I say no one plays Scriabin's etude in D minor like Horowitz. If you are familiar with the work you may be dissappointed in the begining, i know i was. Very often i have heard a loud start to the piece but this time he plays it very gingerly. But dont be deterred for the demon begins to rage within. As his face turns furious the demon, devil, and angel unite into a thunderous middle section and absolutely brilliant ending that sends the piece into the air with a gasp and an explosion of musicality. I could go on forever about this performance. But i'll end it by saying BUY IT it is well worth the money. you wont be dissapointed by the GREATEST PIANIST WHO HAS EVER LIVED!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the greatest recital captured on film
Review: Here we see the most controversial and greatest pianist of all time play live at a recital in moscow. What more could you ask for? His selections are almost perfect, spanning from early classicism to the late romantic period. Volodya Horowitz touches on Scarlattie's beautiful piano sonata minatures. As he plays them, jaw clenched, his hands roll quite shockingly so down the piano, ever so delicately. The Mozart is wonderful too, as he plays one of Mozart's famous sonatas. He manages in everyone of the classical compositions to play so unbroken and so legato that i wonder how he does it. His flat finger technique is also delightful to watch. As the program moves on he masterfully sings with the voice of the piano two of Scriabin's most popular etudes. The first is done very well and the second,... well lets just say he morphs suddenly into the devil himself. And if you listen ever so closely you may be able to hear a piano string pop and break at the first thunderous base note. I noticed this listening to an audio digitally remastered version. Following the scriabin is Liszt, the virtuoso, Chopin ,the poet of the piano, and Rachmanninoff, the king of the romantics. The movie also features one of Horowitz's most playfull encores Enticelles by mozkowski. As the program comes to an end Horowitz ends with perhaps the most popular work he is known for, Schumman's Trauemere. The camera focuses completely on the auidience at this point where we see a man remove his glasses and display a single tear that rolls down his cheek. The emotion is so apparrent in the auidence that it shows a person, who has never seen him play before, how truly a gift he is. His breathtaking speeds and rhythms and his flawless angelic touch create both the devil and the angel which join to form what he calls "electricity".
Rating:
Summary: The Best Recital I Have Ever Seen
Review: Horowitz was amazing, not only for his technical mastery, but his ability to seize the emotional substance of the music and communicate that to his audience. This is apparent in this video of his Moscow recital. The Horowitzian powers of expression mesmerize the audience, as they hold me spellbound every time I see the video. The program in this recital was also very well selected; those for whom this is the first exposure to Horowitz recieve a good idea of his repertoire and playing style. The selected works, the order in which they are played, and the variety of composers and styles in this recital are a sign of the maestro's musical judgement and sensitivity. There is not much to "watch" in the video: Horowitz's indulges in little or no unnecessary movement; there are no dramatic shoulder movements, no hair-shaking (he only mops his brow occasionally between pieces), no tragic facial expressions. That is not Horowitz's appeal. What can be seen of his playing shows a relaxed ease of playing that is almost unbelievable, given the brilliance and power of his expression and the virtuosic character of his sound. This is a must-see for young musicians who feel impelled to impart showy gestures to their performance that often obscure the real musical effect, as well as sometimes cover imperfect technique. Seeing Horowitz live in a video was an unforgettable experience for me; I only wish I could have been there in 1986.
Rating:
Summary: Magic...
Review: I have seen this DVD time and again and it is never boring, always full of new details and undiscovered charm and power. It is pure joy to see diversity of Mr Horowitz repertoire, his flawless technique, those fingers, those amazing octaves that barely touch the keys and yet produce such incredible sounds. Horowitz's body expression, that simplicity of movements without the affectation of so many pedantic pianists is a great lesson to those who think that flamboyance is needed to convey a musical message. Yet, with those limited movements, Horowitz is able to deliver something so profound that only music in the hands of a great artist can. The interviews to Horowitz are fun, illustrative of his life while showing the human side of a great artist. May be a bit too much time was devoted to showing the audience although this was quite a sight at certain moments. I wish the camera had shown his hands during the whole execution of Schumann's "Traeumerei". Buy this DVD and you will never, ever regret it.
Rating:
Summary: A treasure that you will view on and on and .....
Review: I have the VHS format of this magnificient recital. You will be hard pressed to see and hear better versions of Scarlatti and Mozart. In viewing this video you sense that there is something special in the air. The master returns to his homeland one last time and leaves a SUPERB recital for us to cherish. I am not musically trained and therefore probably missed some of the intricate aspects of the recital. Even if you are one of those that occasionally dabbles in classical music, get this video. I found the audience interaction, yes coughing, quite genuine and moving. To see a great artist perform in his homeland and see the audience reactions, faces, and emotions, makes this a truly memorable performance. Can you believe that I found this jewel perchance in the dollar bin at a video store in 1999? I am told this is now available in DVD. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: A treasure that you will view on and on and .....
Review: I have the VHS format of this magnificient recital. You will be hard pressed to see and hear better versions of Scarlatti and Mozart. In viewing this video you sense that there is something special in the air. The master returns to his homeland one last time and leaves a SUPERB recital for us to cherish. I am not musically trained and therefore probably missed some of the intricate aspects of the recital. Even if you are one of those that occasionally dabbles in classical music, get this video. I found the audience interaction, yes coughing, quite genuine and moving. To see a great artist perform in his homeland and see the audience reactions, faces, and emotions, makes this a truly memorable performance. Can you believe that I found this jewel perchance in the dollar bin at a video store in 1999? I am told this is now available in DVD. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Another Must have!
Review: In this DVD, viewers can have sight of Tsaichovsky's home and his piano with the Maestro playing a few phrases on it. We see what comes of Horowitz's niece left behind in Russia. We also see the actual weeping of the Russians, invoked by Horowitz's playing, lamanting their own sufferings and that of the fate of their motherland in the face of Communism... I have watched this for a dozen times for a decade or two ( first on LP and than DVD ) and I still find it untiring or even inspiring... But as far as music or the ingenuity of the design of the repertoire is concerned, I believe Horowitz's "Concert in Vienna", filmed at about the same time, is even better. There Horowitz had this best Mozart to offer, with a lot of colours: definitely more than Mozart could have contemplated, a new dimension available only to the very previleged few. True, those who can play Chopoin can play Bach or even Mozart. Horowitz by this stage surely would be able to win back Lipatti's admiration.
Rating:
Summary: Horowitz in Moscow on DVD
Review: It is good to see the powers that be in the DVD world are not ignoring classical music. I have been wanting to see Horowitz material reissued in the new format and I was not disappointed. Comparing the DVD to my LaserDisc, I find that the video portion is somewhat superior on DVD, with improved clarity and contrast. The sound is also better. There are two audio versions, the original non-compressed stereo, and a new Dolby Digital 5.1 track which will knock your socks off. If you have a DVD player, this disc is a must, if you haven't purchased a player yet, this is incentive to get one! Two minor caveats, Horowitz' final encore, Rachmaninoff's Polka, which was included in the VHS versions, is not present, as it was not in the Laserdisc issued by the same company. Also the on-screen biographical sketch of Horowitz contains several errors which Horowitz fans will be able to spot right away. Other than that, this is a fine re-issue. Now, how about putting the other Horowitz videos on DVD?
Rating:
Summary: Another Must have!
Review: It was not easy for Horowitz to make a fame inthe wakeof the Golden Age to become one of the greats and at his late age admitted that he had a limited musical background.
In this DVD, however, don't expect to see any of the fiery or scary perfomances like his Rachmaninov Concerto No.3 or his Metropolitan Recital. He had long passed that stage, both in age and in fame. Instead, viewers are compensated with a fuller view of his subtle colours which he pushed to an utmost extreme, a revelation for many modern piano players. We also have some most heartfelt pieces by Horowitz however short they may be. Moreover, we can have sight of Tsaichovsky's home and his piano where the Maestro played a few phrases on it. We see what comes of Horowitz's rather colourless niece left behind in Russia. We also see the actual weeping of the Russians, invoked by Horowitz's playing, lamenting perhaps also their own unnecessary turns and twists in the face of Communism...
Having been listening to this for years, I still find it a source of inspiration, albeit as far as music or the ingenuity of fixing the repertoire, Horowitz's "Concert in Vienna", filmed at about the same time, is even more appealing. Both are oozing with colours. But for a closer look at his fingers and touches, viewers should instead check out "Horowitz, The Last Romantic."
All in all, Horowitz by this stage surely would be able to win back Lipatti's admiration, if not Kopcsis's.
Rating:
Summary: Magical Horowitz
Review: Musical Content: Horowitz still surprises me every time I listen to him playing great 'solo' piano works as in this concert, (beautiful ones from Scarlatti, The Rach, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt, Schumman, Scriabin). His magic finger-style was just incredible, so if you are Horowitz fan this is a must-have, there's no reason to keep you from buying a DVD player and experience the way our beloved Horowitz 'utilize' his unique piano (you see, I just don't want to call him pianist). Sound Quantity: This DVD has pretty good sounding managed by Deustche Gramophone, but the problem came from the audience, it might be heavily cold in Moscow that attendants couldn't help coughing during the performance, and because DG want to keep the sound as natural as possible you will hear at least two annoying coughs in each section of the show. Fortunately, Horowitz was not distracted by that (or it's not perceivable) & as always he was part of the works he's playing. Video Quantity: the picture quantity of the DVD is quite good, but the view angle should be much better, the camera man does not give us the feeling of vitually attending the performance (theatre atmosphere is unreasonably narrow), he also got incredible mistake when spending maybe half of the time focusing on Horowitz left hand. Other content on the DVD: There are two interviews with Horowitz, they are about some of his unforgettable memories in Russia, and they are fun & very memorable.
Also, there's brief Horowitz biography, which I found it very concise & should
be particularly impressive for people who are not very familiar with Horowitz. As a conclusion I highly recommend this DVD to buy as gift for piano/classical music newbies, they will not pay much attention to the weakness of it but will have wonderful time experiencing one of the most successful shows performed by Horowitz.
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