Chopin Mazurka Op.63 No.2 Horowitz Rubinstein Argerich

[Balgig]

where is that Horowitz is playing in the picture?

[ilank874]

Rubinstein with his playing always tell a story from the begining to the end, In his playing you feel with him what the chopin's music character is. he has a perfect memory about all the key points of the piece his playing especilly in chopin emotional music.

Horowitz is always interesting to listen to, but chopin is not suitable for Horowizt like for Rubinstein.Beethoven has more suitable pieces of music for

the fire that Horowitx has in his playing.

[urmorph]

My vote is for Rubinstein, by a landslide. The other two are useful reminder to me how not to play it, especially the D flat section.

[vybor]

Rubinstein once said that in playing Chopin he always tried to adhere to the written score and let the music speak for itself. This was very much a reaction to the approach of his predecessor and countryman Jan Paderewski. His approach can be heard on this mazurka, while Horowitz and Argerich take a few liberties. However, I like and appreciate them all!

[thelizardprez]

Funny, jjp009, I always found Rubinstein to be the one with more flare, and who made an effort to put forth unique interpretations of the pieces he played.

[RH98]

Damn... why bother putting up a video of three great pianists when it will only end in petty bitching and pointless comparisons (not a criticism of the poster, btw). Also I have to agree that the picture of Argerich looks nothing like her.

[jghancockjr]

Horowitz turns it into an endlessly interesting tonal jewel. Rubinstein as usual is

unable to conceal his boredom. Argerich tries to give us a Rachmaninovian inflection point but turns it into a mushy hysterical episode.

[mmoynan]

Really weird pic of Martha. Something tells me it isn't. What it ACTUALLY looks like is a wax sculpture of her. Especially because her skin is eerily smooth and untextured. Her face is also uncharacteristically round looking. Definitely not her!

[TJFNYC212]

what horrible picture of Martha ugh I do not like MA in Chopin that much unless it come to the E minor Concerto WOW !

[TJFNYC212]

what horrible picture of Martha ugh

[HankDrake]

I have to give this to Horowitz - he captures the shifting moods of the piece - rather than presenting it as one unchanging mood.  Further, by the time Rubinstein's set was recorded, he was well into his "elder-statesman" phase. Rubinsten's interpretation sounds flattened, with the harmonically pungent left hand passages smoothed out. It would be interesting to compare Rubinstein's 3 studio recordings of this piece with each other.

[otgonbulgan]

wow!

really good playing!!!

>>>

[otgonbulgan]

wow!

really good playing!!!

>>

[otgonbulgan]

wow!

really good playing!!!



[gljgrace]

Horowitz is great but i am a great piano player and i know what happened to his playing the only thing is to many stops but he played pretty well and i am 8 years old

[fredericfranc]

That is actually Martha's mother. I was married to her for awhile...

[maxencehesse]

In my opinion, Horowitz is really the best. He is the most interesting and has such a wonderful touch! On Youtube Sigalevitch and Bashkirov are also unbelievable.

[alveoligio]

Rubinstein is the greatest

[OLarney87]

That is kind of a weird picture of Martha Argerich. Are you sure it's really her?

[SpeckledTrout]

Rubenstein is always right on when it comes to Chopin. A true Chopinist, definitely.

[Bognarfan]

It amazes me how each pianist puts emphasis in different places and comes up with a totally different interpretation. I guess that's what music is about.

[kalduglun]

To my opinion, Rubinstein's performance can be distinguished from the other two by its sobriety. But I did not mean it is necessarily better, I don't know.

[weestro7]

I can recommend a great amateur performance of this piece, by _rolipoli_ on YouTube. He has two versions up now, both great.

[mimli27]

Moi j'adore la version Argerich. Nerveuse et tendre à la fois. Evidemment les 2 autres sont merveilleuses aussi.

[IHeartMySnes]

Horowitz' playing is the most pridefull and eloquant. He has a very patriotic sense about his playing. Argerich hints at this. Rubentstein makes no mention of it.

[christineluk]

nice but totally different from wt my tutor played

[Barbapippo]

Not all mazurkas have a patriotic or epic spirit, quite the contrary, indeed... Rubinstein's rendition is absolutely perfect, also the other two are not so bad, :)

[callenishss]

agreed

[yarg2020]

Rubinstein plays this how it should be played! A true Chopinist. Very tasteful. Thanks!

[iampauleybaby]

Great idea to put all three up for comparison. I'm not a great Rubenstein fan, I must say, but I think he wins this particular skirmish.

[jjp009]

I don't know why, but to me, Horowitz' playing always had a special fire and flare to it that made him sound so much different than anyone else. Please don't get me wrong, as A.R. and M.A. were/are great pianists, but I just don't find their versions as interesting as Maestro Horowitz'. I know he often took liberties with scores and added notes and accents here and there, but that was just part of his unique genius.

[buffuzo]

AR's harmonics make his version richer to me.

[ChrisWatch]

Martha was sure a beautiful lady back in the day ^_^. I wonder how many pianist went chasing after her and actually caught her.

[soami2u]

@ChrisWatch One was Stephen (Bishop) Kovacevich. They were married for a time. I think they're back together again (Kovacevich recently recovered from a stroke). She has also collaborated with another fine pianist, Nelson Freire, in a magnificent video of the 2-piano version of Ravel's La Valse (recorded, I think, early 1980s) which is a MUST if you haven't seen it--absolutely stunning!!

[chad410]

Horowitz has an aristocracy about him that suits this. Argerich a whimsicul nature that too suits it. Horowitz is not afraid to bring out parts.

[weestro7]

Rubinstein has the right approach for me, using a great, clear tone. My book of preludes by Chopin lists Rubinstein's among the recommended performances, but not those of the other two. Judging by this vid, I would guess that that's fair.