This Week in Classical Music: September 27, 2021.Pianists and a Singer.October 1st is a big day for the pianists: Vladimir Horowitz was born on that day in 1903, and Vera Gornostayeva in 1939.Horowitz is world-famous, we’ve written about him on several occasions (for example, here), but still cannot quite come to terms with his art.Somehow, Horowitz managed to combine a sublime touch and bombast, the most incisive interpretation with showmanship, very often in the same recording.There are some pianists, like Arthur Rubinstein, who sound flawless to us, even if during their long careers they had changed the way they played some pieces (which Rubinstein, for one, certainly did).Horowitz is not like that: you listen to him and sometimes cringe: why so fast, why this blur, where’s the music?And the next moment everything is perfect, and you start thinking that maybe the mayhem he created several bars ago had some reason behind it.In any event, here’s Vladimir Horowitz playing Chopin’s Scherzo no. 1.This recording was most likely made in 1951.By the way, Chopin was only 21 when he wrote this Scherzo.
In the same entry we referred to above, we mentioned Vera Gornostayeva, a fine Russian pianist and teacher.Here she plays, in recital, Chopin’s Waltz in C-Sharp Minor op.64, no.2.It’s very well played, even if there’s no Horowitz’s fire in it.We’re not sure about the date of the recording, it’s probably from the 1970s.
The French composer Paul Dukas was also born on October 1st, in 1865.He’s known for one composition only, his brilliant orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice.Dukas was born in Paris into a Jewish family.He started composing at the age of 14, went to the Paris Conservatory at 16.To his great disappointment, despite several attempts he failed to win the coveted Prix de Rome.Dukas was very critical of his own compositions and destroyed most of the scores.He was very influential as a music critic; he also extensively wrote about history, philosophy, and politics.Here’s one of Dukas surviving compositions, Variations, Interlude et Finale sur un thème de Rameau.It’s performed by the pianist Marco Rapetti.
Fritz Wunderlich is one of our all-time favorite singers. We just missed his birthday: he was born on September 26th of 1930. As a Lied tenor, he’s incomparable (you can listen to Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin or Schumann’s Dichterliebe in our library).He was also wonderful in Mozart’s operas.Here’s Il mio tesoro from Act 2 of Mozrt’s Don Giovanni. Herbert von Karajan leads the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.
Horowitz, more, 2021
This Week in Classical Music: September 27, 2021. Pianists and a Singer. October 1st is a big day for the pianists: Vladimir Horowitz was born on that day in 1903, and Vera
Gornostayeva in 1939. Horowitz is world-famous, we’ve written about him on several occasions (for example, here), but still cannot quite come to terms with his art. Somehow, Horowitz managed to combine a sublime touch and bombast, the most incisive interpretation with showmanship, very often in the same recording. There are some pianists, like Arthur Rubinstein, who sound flawless to us, even if during their long careers they had changed the way they played some pieces (which Rubinstein, for one, certainly did). Horowitz is not like that: you listen to him and sometimes cringe: why so fast, why this blur, where’s the music? And the next moment everything is perfect, and you start thinking that maybe the mayhem he created several bars ago had some reason behind it. In any event, here’s Vladimir Horowitz playing Chopin’s Scherzo no. 1. This recording was most likely made in 1951. By the way, Chopin was only 21 when he wrote this Scherzo.
In the same entry we referred to above, we mentioned Vera Gornostayeva, a fine Russian pianist and teacher. Here she plays, in recital, Chopin’s Waltz in C-Sharp Minor op.64, no.2. It’s very well played, even if there’s no Horowitz’s fire in it. We’re not sure about the date of the recording, it’s probably from the 1970s.
The French composer Paul Dukas was also born on October 1st, in 1865. He’s known for one composition only, his brilliant orchestral piece The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Dukas was born in Paris into a Jewish family. He started composing at the age of 14, went to the Paris Conservatory at 16. To his great disappointment, despite several attempts he failed to win the coveted Prix de Rome. Dukas was very critical of his own compositions and destroyed most of the scores. He was very influential as a music critic; he also extensively wrote about history, philosophy, and politics. Here’s one of Dukas surviving compositions, Variations, Interlude et Finale sur un thème de Rameau. It’s performed by the pianist Marco Rapetti.
Fritz Wunderlich is one of our all-time favorite singers. We just missed his birthday: he was born on September 26th of 1930. As a Lied tenor, he’s incomparable (you can listen to Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin or Schumann’s Dichterliebe in our library). He was also wonderful in Mozart’s operas. Here’s Il mio tesoro from Act 2 of Mozrt’s Don Giovanni. Herbert von Karajan leads the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra.