Vladimir Horowitz - The Last Romantic 6/12 Chopin - Scherzo No. 1 in B Minor

[meredith218461]

I love the benign smile at the end of all that physical exertion.

[gapoc459]

Something strange that I feel with both Gilels and (especially) Horowitz. Much of his playing sounds... sloppy? that's not the right word... but all strangely... human. Combined with the absolutely epic face at the end, I LOVE it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[coaster1000]

Wow, the coda is amazing...

[Bodi99991]

Wow. This is absolutely amazing. He has complete control of tone color and dynamics. And it's not played in C minor. The video is half a tone out of sync for some sort of reason.

[newtonnigasby]

i damn near died at 8:08

[artymowycz]

He played the bloody thing in C minor, holly

[vcupiano]

damnit man. Why is the sound always out of sync?

[DeadRavers]

wtf? i love horowitz and all, but damn....either his hearing went or he just stopped giving a shit about his dynamics on a piano thats a half step out of tune. this sounds like all the MIDI recordings ive heard of this piece.

his technique is as on point as its always been, and his expression on his face at 8:08 is priceless.

[VisioninScience]

this scherzo is such a pain to play.

[humbher3]

Horowitz was here 82 years old

[Mysja100]

жахливе фотрепіано....

[anonymousQ45]

honestly, if this man was the greatest pianist of his time, what does that say about Chopin or Beethoven or Liszt? i know hes old here and may have lost some juice, but really the technical sections are just ba, they just are. it sounds very amatuer for todays standards. and ive been wondering, maybe Liszt and others were not as great as we may have in mind. Rachmaninoff recordings surely dont blow me away. what if we could hear them all play? i dont think we'd be very impressed

[Ally123234]

@anonymousQ45 Rachmaninoff's recording dont blow you away? wow

[anonymousQ45]

@Ally123234 no

[VanargrandsEnd]

@anonymousQ45 Well it is true that we may never know who is or was the greatest pianist for all we know they could be someone iliving alone in the countryside. I guess their considered the best because the people chose them more so then anything. Horowitz was awarded the Medal of Freedom for what he did between America and Russia so maybe hes considered the best of his time because of his contributions to the world. That and he still is considered one of the best pianist in the last century.

[The55555SSSSS]

@No7913

84

[ajayajath]

the middle section is just awesome, even if hes sloppy, no1 can interpret romanticism as good as him!

[humbher3]

doesnt exist a real genius without good sense of humor

[AKP2You]

just stunning, pure perfection of effortless playing along with great imagination so typical for Horowitz. thanks much for uploading!

[joeyofdoom666]

what an moron under this comment, trying so hard to get a reaction out of someone

[SilenceTheQuiet]

What in God's name is he even doing with his face at 8:07??? He looks like he's vomiting! (not that I didn't vomit, after such a terrible performance.)

[SilenceTheQuiet]

Horowitz is the absolute worst interpreter of Chopin I have heard in my life!!! I can't hardly even listen to this. I realize he is old and stuff, but COME ON. I'm not saying he isn't gifted at the piano; he can play, but he CANNOT PLAY CHOPIN!!!! This is the most sloppy and unprofessional interpretation of the Scherzo. Hated hated hated hated hated it!

[Laudan08]

@SilenceTheQuiet The sound quality isn't good, and there's not "bad" interpreter of Chopin, or bad interpreter at anything (except Lang Lang). He plays it with a lot of Fuoco (that's the mark at the beginning), but you can't criticize his dynamics usage. He got Grammys. What you got?

[SilenceTheQuiet]

@Laudan08 I got taste in music, and I still think it is crappy. sorry.

[ajayajath]

@SilenceTheQuiet

if u think its crappy then dont watch! watch something you admire instead of instigating every one!

[aconkling]

I think one of my favorite things about watching Horowitz's performances is his faces after he finishes; his face at 8:11 is fantastic. :)

[TheXerhos]

@aconkling That's what she said.

Sorry, it was way too easy. :(

[aconkling]

@TheXerhos Ha! Good one. Guess I walked into that one. … … (Don't you even…)

[farah73]

i respect the wrinkles on his face and around his eyes i also respect his brain. we lost a great man but thanks to technology we get to see him perform and enjoy his gloryness.

[tomaroony]

I'm sure there are / were many pianists who could emulate and even surpass Horowitz' technical ability.

However, it's not all about sheer technical ability - his passion for the piece and the instrument shines through, providing an experience for the listener few could match. My personal favourite pianist.

And at 82? Crikey.

[dmcII]

@tomaroony No argument here. Technique without any feeling is like listening to a machine. Dull....Thats what made Horowitz such a beast. He had it all.

RIP Volodya !

[amrabas2007]

look at his hands at the end of the video and after that he was like "next,please" :D

[gianpaga11]

assolutamente magnifico!

Grazie per il video!

[iwritesmusic]

this is up a half step. he isnt really playing that fast

[kasyapa]

video and audio are out of synch, on my laptop at least. : o

[kasyapa]

pitch is off?

[maestr016]

he's an animal!

[The55555SSSSS]

I Don't like Horowitz.........

I LOVE him !

[Nexodaedalus]

@pipeorganloverNJP It's the fabled "Liszt octaves"... I'm sure he put it in much like how virtuoso performer/composers used to do (particularly the absolute mental pianist Cziffra).

[Nexodaedalus]

Con fuoco, "with fire"....

Plenty of that here.

[tjtheplay]

I like how he stuck his tongue out at the end like he's at a rock concert lol he's crazy.

[mattovarius]

@pipeorganloverNJP Horowitz was known to sometimes alter short passages in music. Here, he substitutes interlocking octaves in place of a chromatic scale.

[mikeasteele]

Why is it he played octaves in each hand on the last few measures? lol

[Nexodaedalus]

@mikeasteele It's the fabled "Liszt octaves"... I'm sure he put it in much like how virtuoso performer/composers used to do (particularly the absolute mental pianist Cziffra).

[andriventu]

@pipeorganloverNJP It's a his arrangement, you know, Horowitz....

[calvinlks]

I love him!!! 

[Dalgning]

Some corrections : Dubal's not his biographer, and the "flat fingers" - technique was a bit earlier, at 16y with Blumenfeld.

[natia56]

I play this piece and It's beautiful :D

[eb641]

Horowitz didn't have stiff joints sir. He ALWAYS played with lsrgely straight fingers....and his habds held low.

[JohnnyStricklett]

@eb641 Not always; when he was young he played with typical curved fingers. (by young I mean undefr 28 years)

[f1f1s]

For an almost 80-old man it is devilishly hard to maintain all those notes in place... You see, due to the stiffness of his joints, he has to play with very straight fingers... He is a hero - to do performances at such age! David Dubal, his friend and biographer, once said: "If a deaf were granted a sense of hearing for just two hours, he should have spent them listenining to Horowitz".

[iplongnin]

The video and the audio is not synchronized!

[hoiyiu2512]

why does the piano sound a semitone higher? is it my illusion?

[dmcII]

@hoiyiu2512 Yes it does sound slightly sharp. Might just be flutter from the original recording. This was taken over 20 years ago before digital sound had made it out of the recording studio and into other applications (like video).

Just a guess.

[brotherstan28]

jesus christ that opening fucking killed!!

[jircv]

no me gusta la parte lenta ,

[cblink1000]

hahaha great facial expression.

If only I were alive to be able to see him perform live

[lovefortush]

If someone asked me who would I like to be when I grow old... I'd definitely answer: Vladimir Horowitz

[uhartchristian]

vladimir horowitz never will be forgotten, what he did keeps to be the top of interpretation ever reached. only svatoslav richter has reached this level too. these two giants together with rubinstein keeps being the most important pianists of the 20th century. after them a big decline in public concerts of classical music started and we are on the bottom now.... hope will go up again.... but people are no more ready to listen as before.....

[LooseArm]

they're ready to listen, they just won't pay to

[uhartchristian]

thats right , the actual system of subventions and free offer on radio internet and television makes it a hard job to earn money with classical music today. except if you are into the subvention system with a clever agent who knows how to take advantage, The time is over where there was big help from private families .

[oitotheworld23]

@uhartchristian oooohh you forget rachmaninoff. he belongs right at the top.

[peppersprayinthebutt]

is it out of tune? kinda sounds like it in the first chord....

[asianpianoman]

it's an old recording and therefore the mics are distorted- i have perfect pitch.

[katkula]

A great example where own personal style absolutely works!

[eligarf]

how come the video lags behind the audio?

it's like the opposite of a pipe organ.

Ｌ♡ＶＥ the performance. he was such a romantic

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

[astronomo16]

very personal style, but fantastic. I love you big man

[dominicbalabat]

@porquestrena : Excellent answer! Thanks a lot! I think I better practice more... I love playing as we all do... :D

Without any reason, we just love to play!!! It's our own satisfaction... I'll learn it someday...

[dominicbalabat]

@porquestrena : would you please tell me how did he do the apeggio at 7:59? His palm spread like it is an octave but i play it with my 1 2 3 fingers...

[rwrsoares]

Excelente! Não canso de ouví-lo.

[Liebromeistal]

I don't think Sviatoslav Richter liked this performance

[seryrzu]

Year Richter said that it was disgusted))

He noted it in his diary!

[dmcII]

Also forgot to point out (as if it was needed...) that he was well into his 80's with arthritis when this documentary was made. To be able to play this piece and other like it at this age is nothing short of remarkable !

[justlooseit8567]

@dmcII Apparently he had minor parkinsons also...It's amazing that he was able to remember all of this~!

[kasyapa]

@dmcII i don't think maestro had arthritis. :)

[dmcII]

The man was a beast at the keyboard. RIP Voldya !

[jvandle]

That is one of the most amazing performances on the piano I've ever seen in my entire life! Holy shit, that just blew me the fuck away.

[ProteusX2]

my thoughts exactly