Added: 4 years ago
From: shrinkingglasses
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  • too bad there's no video with this beautiful music!

  • Horowitz died november 5 1989 ... these recordings was just days before his death .... and this version of the fantasie impromptu the best i ever heard! impecable, clear, splendid .. perfect

  • @humbher3 In these sessions he also recorded the Schubert-Liszt Serenade (Standchen), it's on YT :-) and it is sublime, interpreted remarkably similar to Rach's. Horowitz's last concerts, 1986 Moscow and Tokyo, 1987 Vienna (all on YT) are among the high points ever in piano performance.

  • chills down my spine everytime i hear this. love it!

  • Horowitz dedicated his life to the keys. I hope one day to be as good as him. But unlike him i cannot read music lol. oh! and If anyone is interested in giving me feedback on my video of me playing fantasie impromptu it would be appreciated!

  • Claudio Arrau

  • @revoluzar i think horowitz >>>>>>>>>>>>>> arrau n horowitz is like almost 90 years old when he played this, he's so much better.

  • @Kinjutsuu You got blocked from Jung Lin's Liszt HR2 video because you posted hate speech. The channel that has Jung's HR2 is ForaTv, they allow all comments but hate speech. You turned out to be slime, good to see you got banned. I had two previous accounts 2-3 yrs ago that I closed because of racist jerks like you. Further, I don't need to vote myself up, have lots of YT friends out there unlike idiots like you. Now be a good little SLIME that you are and STFU :-)

  • Yundi Li's version. I think it is better than Horowitz's one.

  • So beautifully played, Bravo.

  • @Kinjutsuu

    A world famous pianist once said to me: "Booyyysss who like girrrrlasA... hmmm... have aaa....  prrrrrAblem! GHGHGHG!!"

  • @Kinjutsuu There is NO voting on Jung Lin's FI!

    Sicko racists like you belong in the nuthouse - you should be banned from YouTube!

  • Horowitz has so much more feeling than Jung Lin.

  • @kinjutsu what videos are you two talking about?

  • This is the best rendition I have ever heard of this piece, hands down. It even beats out Rubinstein's, which is hard to top.

  • For me this is the ultimate rendition. Sublime.

  • Chopin would be proud. And fearful.

  • "Fantasie Impromptu mempengaruhi Chopin Larungnya

  • nobody knew I played the piano, I kept it to myself. One day my friends and i were in a room with a piano. I then sat down and played this out of nowhere. they were like "wtf".

  • @Bri212211 Must have been terrible for you when you woke up ^.^

  • @VerbalizedPhrases Why is that?

  • @Bri212211 Oh because you must have had such a pleasent night! When I dream of such, I really hardly get up at all in the morning. Since I am quite capable of reentering my phantasy at that state of [not-]awakeness =)

  • @VerbalizedPhrases Oh. Sometimes I have that problem.  I was excited to get up actually to see how they would greet me. Being called greater than Beethoven is quite nice =)

  • @Bri212211 i want to do that now ill remember to now that i know how to playu this

  • @2pacAmazesSuperman This song sounds a lot harder than it is. (not saying it's easy).

  • @Bri212211 i know how to play it

  • @2pacAmazesSuperman Then you know what I'm talking about.

  • @Bri212211 well not a lot harder than it really is but sounds harder than it really is because it repeats a lot throughout

  • @2pacAmazesSuperman I remember timing was a little difficult. But I learned this a long time ago, forgot it now.

  • What a great artist, to play piano is no easy, to master piano it is just for gifted and extremely talented people like Master Horowitz!.

  • Superba esecuzione. 

  • @KievanTiger Just to add, by "living" I meant performing, Martha Argerich is barely performing these days, still she is an immensely "musical" artist and her recent solo performances are surreal :-)

  • @KievanTiger Google Jung Lin for her downloads (iTunes and her website) - hours of extraordinary performing (31 million items for Jung on Google, more than for Horowitz)

    On YT where there are 272,000 playlists with Jung's videos on them, much more than contemporaries (18K Hamelin, 48K Lisitsa, 6.5K Lugansky, 9K Wang, 195K Kissin)

    Jung Lin gave 2 recitals at Lincoln Ctr before she was 20, 5 years at the IKIF New York, Rach 3rd worldwide - she is the only living pianist I listen to :-)

  • It's quite an honor that this music which made by Mr. Horowitz was used by a GREAT gymnast like Zhenya Kanaeva.

  • @KievanTiger Because I saw Ms. Lin in concert and she reminds me of Horowitz unlike all the others I have heard. Yes,also a beauty she is, you are right. Horowitz is my favorite, best for all time, I saw him in concert twice and there is nothing like it!

  • scuse! i like you very much, M. Arrau but for this piece, Horrowitz do it bouncier, more meticulous...better!!

    Horrowitz, Gould...THE great

  • Horowitz was phenomenal, as great a pianist as any back to Paderewsky, Hofmann and Rachmaninoff. There's nothing that Horowitz played that isn't perfect and beautiful. Most amazing this was made when he was 86!!! :D

    Jung Lin's live performance is all feeling, it's the most emotional ever. Her clarity and phrasing, her lyricism are phenomenal, perfect. I love her fast tempo, that adds to musical intensity; most including VH played this at the same tempo, some played it even faster! XD

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  • @Bret6464 Just for clarification, you are just listing the pianists who we have recordings of and can thus have irrefutable evidence. Because, while all of these pianists are no doubt some of the best, who, nowadays, can hold a candle to the prolific careers of Chopin or Beethoven, J.S Bach or Mozart, etc.

  • @Slimcognito2012 Of course you are right - no composers at that level since Rachmaninoff and Scriabin :-)) I was only talking to pianism and artistry in performing.

  • @Bret6464 what about arthur rubenstein? i think hes the best interpreter of chopin.

  • @srilanka132435 :-)) I also used to think so, but not anymore.

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  • @Bret6464 Hey how come I don't see Rubenstein? I think you forgot the true master of Piano...

  • @THEMOVIEMAKER202 Yes he is another master :-)

  • Bravo, Maestro!!

  • He was in his eighties when he played this, wasn't he? I love this piece and Horowitz interpretation..

  • That was very impressive. Mr H has provided yet another interpretation of this dramatic, harmonic, off beat and totally engaging piece. Chopin's extraction of Moonlight Sonata signatures allows for all sorts of variations to be infused. It is hard to tire of listening to this work. Its harder to learn to play it.  8 years and getting there, 12 hours a day might be pushing it though.

  • Horowitz truly has a great sense of musical expression.

  • I prefer Yundi's interpretation .

  • Love the improvisation

  • the jazzy chopin by horrowitz ahah

  • We lost Horowitz soon after this recording, he was 86 years old here! His 1986 Moscow concert is the greatest single piano recital ever.  He was an extraordinary artist and musician - we are extremely lucky he came around when his performances could be recorded and preserved :-))

  • @Bret6464 I can't agree you more......so sad I was too young when he was alive, so I could not attend any of his concerts, although my parents and I knew about his performance. (I'm just a high-schooler now :( )

  • I think Arrau's interpretation of this impromptu is probably the best ever!

  • AMAZING.

  • Is he dead?

  • @DaRkLORDnUb Yes he is.

  • @monypril Oh.... :(

  • @DaRkLORDnUb yes... he died shortly after this recording in 1989... of a heart attack..

  • @superxinyang :( I feel sad now.... again

  • Not saying this is great because Horowitz is a "one of the best pianists", but because what I got from his interpretation, I might come up with better explanation... But if Yundi's playing is a talented one's outstanding piece, Horowitz's playing is a talented one's soulful piece of mastery, with a blend of several sentiments and a little bit of mischief on the audience. To put it simpler, if Yundi is Harry Potter, Horowitz is Dumbledore...

  • Dedicate to Arnold Miller, an Australian, who passed away 3 years ago, aged 89, played piano with his heart like HOROWITZ's.

  • Best version I've ever heard. Horrowitz is a MASTER!!!

  • Meraviglioso Chopin che sa catturare l'anima e penetrare nel cuore, nella mente; brividi per una musica irripetibile.Grazie anche ad Horowitz che sa interpretare con grande classe questo pezzo indimenticabile.

  • In all the banality and bullshit of this age, Horowitz has Chopins hands.

  • Bello, bello, rilassante.

  • @ktaiina tutto tranne che rilassante

  • honestly, people who can't play the beginning right and left hand parts together should wait a couple years.. after better listening/technique skills are developed better, it comes really easily to you.

  • @kinlee21c agreed! Chopin isn't easy at all, especially when you throw dynamics and expression into the mix

  • i like this so much.....

  • I have tried learning this and it is NOT easy. Holy crap, it should be considered a form of extreme exercise. And I'm only on Grade 6, so...hahhahah.

  • @cgurl1012 try some Czerny (i liked it better than Hanon) first. when i was in jr high i attempted Chopin's Minute Waltz rather prematurely and i nearly died!

  • Είναι ν' απορείς με την ευαισθησία που έχει το παίξιμο αυτού του ανθρώπου, αν μπορέσεις να συνέλθεις απ' την τεχνική του τελειότητα.

  • 20 people deserved to end up in a napkin that night.

  • @Ataru074

    Şükela - Ül İnci

  • Rubinstein himself said Horowitz was the better pianist but not the better musician, and i think that's a great way of putting it. I personally prefer Horowitz, but they are both great in their own way and i don't think anyone should talk bad about either.

  • @Sixxtysix Horowitz was one of the greatest musicians ever, his artistry is surreal and that is what sets him apart from Rubinstein. But agree that Rubinstein was an extraordinary pianist. 

  • @Bret6464 Yeah, but what Rubinstein lacked in artistry he made up for with unrivaled technical skill. He could could play each and every note precisely and clearly even in a fast piece such as this and he mastered pieces as they were meant to be played. Its also what set him apart from Horowitz and the reason they were rivals.

    To be honest, I don't really care for his style at all, but its an amazing feat nonetheless.

  • People are actually talking shit on Horowitz? He's the greatest Romantic pianist, Rubinstein's interpretations are tame, they are great for hearing what's actually on the paper if you want to hear how it's supposed to be played academically.

    Horowitz makes each piece his own. His interpretations are otherworldly, no one evokes so much emotion as he does.

  • CON ESTE TEMA e INTERPRETACION , LEVITAN HASTA LOS ELEFANTES  .

  • ..the last recording...

    I never compare Horowitz's playing with the much younger pianists'..

    I hope they would get to his age and still would amaze (or not) like Horowitz still does..

    Thanks for sharing !

  • this is an arrranged version. 2:35

  • @TheSt777n Not "arranged". Horowitz, and other great pianists will make additions, something from themselves and to "interpret" in the real sense. You will hear Jung Lin do the same thing in her interpretation of the piece, the video is on YT. Both versions define perfection !

  • Best Fantasie-Impromptu ever!

  • This is the last recording from Vladimir Horowitz and it is surreal. IMO all of his performances in the late 1980's are extraordinary! He became even more of an artist, if that were possible. Thank you for uploading and sharing :-))

  • i like this proformance

  • Yundi Li is wonderful! But Horowitz, Arrau, Rubinstein and many others are so good... I agree, they are differents. Just differents!

  • @ethelcvmafra cant compare or introduce yundi li in the rubinsteins and company ligue

  • I cannot wait to learn this!

  • @LuvtoLaughx3 everybody knows this, hurry up is too easy. but only focus in the expresion, bass, clean, dinamics, expression decent rubato, and sonority in wich one note.

  • супер!,

    

  • nagyon megerinti az embert Horowitz jateka szerintem ez az ember egy utolerhetetlen legenda

  • A beautiful piano number by Chopin

  • Best Chopin interpreters of all time are Horowitz, Gilels, Rubinstein.

    Best Chopin interpreter today is Jung Lin :)

  • @ldhmage Of all time, of all time!

  • @ldhmage ... and me ...

  • @ldhmage Nah, sorry. Her live performance I felt the tempo let the piece down. Sure, she could hit the notes but as far as musical feelings omitted from the performance I'd say there was none except for the occasional rubato maybe. Especially the beginning I felt her right hand had no clear tone and the notes seemed to be merged together; the melody was blurred with no definition. Horowitz has clear un-robotic notes with no undeliberate accentuation and is just... perfect to my ears. Beautiful.

  • Yundi Li is the best in it ;)

  • Is that recorded 4 days before he died?!

  • @SuhmMusic : yes, believe it or not, he was 86 when he recorded this. How do the critics respond to a brilliant interpretation by someone whose contemporaries, if they're alive at all, have a hard time chewing pablum? This guy was the greatest pianist of the 20th century.

  • @beethoven2351 He sure was.. It's brilliant!

  • @beethoven2351 Correction. Horowitz was1 of the 3 greatest pianists of the 20th century. It's nothing more than the listener's personal opinion that ranks Horowitz, Rubinstein, and Rachmaninov into 3 separate levels of genius. One of the three may have been slightly better at playing one piece, and another slightly better at another piece. However, I doubt that anyone commenting on this page is qualified to rank any one of them over the other 2 by any criteria other than personal opinion.

  • @minralb what, and gould?, Gould, Horowitz, Rubinstein, Cziffra, Hoffmann, Rachmaninov, Arrau, Richter. please, listen more music, please.and nobody is better than other just diferent, like Rubinstein says.

  • @minralb That's a valid point. I stand corrected. I should have said "IMO."

  • Playing such a piece beautifully when you're 86 years old. Bravo!

  • Jung Lin plays nowhere near as good Horowitz does

  • @mss47150 Jung Lin's live performance of the fantasie is pure magic :-)

  • @36beachbum I rather prefer Valentina Igoshina.

  • @36beachbum Because of your comment, I just listened to Jung Lin's performance of Fantasie Impromptu. While technically awesome, I think she plays it too fast. It feels rushed.

  • @bryceguy72 I think Horowitz rules, as always, his Chopin is pure magic. Jung Lin plays this the same speed as Horowitz, with total emotion and awesome technique, both are magical. Some masters played this even faster, check out Hofmann's version, who when asked why he played so fast said 'because I can". Don't like the slower versions, those sound more like nocturnes, no excitement. It's a question of preference, I think.

  • @36beachbum I think Yundi Li gets this perfect.

  • @bryceguy72

    It definitely is. Seriously, I think some Jung Lin fanboy has a YouTube bot or something like that... I'm FUCKING TIRED of seeing her all over FI videos, and I was banned immediately from the video of Jung Lin after posting criticism... lol

    Maybe she can play Hungarian Rhapsody, but her FI is rushed, there's no difference in the allegro start and presto return, her middle part loses it's inner beauty and the way she bombards the very intro with fortissimo x2 , ewwhh

  • @Kinjutsuu You were banned because you were the proverbial troll! I have seen a few nutcases like you who go around and harass artists on YouTube. I hope I was the one who got you banned, you are a dick!

  • @Kinjutsuu After reading all your bullshit - I AM FUCKING TIRED OF YOU! Drop dead!

  • @Kinjutsuu you go around youtube slamming jung and counting how many views she has? whats your problem dudette, what r u smoking? cause you are jealous! why don't you upload your playing fantasie impromptu and show us how it should be played, fail!

    jung lin is awesome she's the best pianist in the world.

  • If you people like Horrorwitz's chopin then God bless you, there is probably not an opinion from me that would cause you to rethink just what it means to think "Romantic". That's all from me.

  • Musical interpretation is certainly in the eye of the listener and many opinions abound, I think Horowitz's interpretation of the classical era (pre 1800?) does it justice. He is suited for Mozart etc... but, in my opinion, not the Romantics. Listen to him then listen to Rubenstein and see the difference. It is not enough just to perfectly memorize the notes in metre, you must go beyond that and find soul. Like learning your lines for a play is not enough. Finding emotion is paramount!

  • did anyone notice the flourish he added which is definitely not in the sheet music?

  • @dmbbzy Yes, I think this is great! I never understood why people are so keen on playing 100% exactly what has been written on paper. Improvisation and bringing in own ideas is what set Horowitz apart from the rest :-)

  • I'd hardly call this "butchering". We're talking about one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. The dynamics are spot-on, and that right hand...every note is crystal clear. Here's something else to consider: this is from his last recording in 1989 - when he was 86 years old. Amazing!

  • Horowitz is an accomplished technical pianist, however his butchering of Chopin is inexcusable. He is, among proffesionals, the worst choice to play the romantic period. This interpretation is too fast and he lacks the ability to use legato properly, and his transitions between passages are so abrupt and mechanical that I feel a tension develope in my body. That is the last thing one should experience with Chopin. The tones should melt into each other and thus envision its pure beauty.

  • @BBJinc71 I would have to agree with @beethoven2351 here and say that i think he actually is performing this nicely. Sometime people put too much rubato into Chopin which can destroy his pieces. I might have expected Horowitz to use a slightly slower tempo but (age taken into consideration) i still think that he is a master of balance and tone and he brings out things in this piece that other people don't.

  • @BBJinc71 Interpretation is one of the few aspects of music that can't be right or wrong (within reason). Sure you can play sections too fast too distinguish the notes but the quality of the interpretation may be completely different in people's opinions. That why I find statements such as "butchering of Chopin" to be incorrect as you are stating that his interpretation is inferior to other pianist as a fact whilst in reality the interpretation is no worse than any other

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  • @BBJinc71 As much as I respect all opinions, criticizing Horowitz because his Chopin is not flat enough for you is way out there. This is a "fantasie" (=fantasy piece) after all, not a nocturne. There are few others who perform the Romantic composers as well as Horowitz. Rubinstein's Chopin is brilliant but Horowitz adds emotion and passion, and that is sublime, that is why millions love Horowitz.

  • as much as I love Horrowitz his playing, I found the constant switch between dynamics disturbing.

  • man the way he sticks that accent little after 0:14 is unbelievable...

  • Horowitz plays with leagues deeper introspection, color, and control in addition to speed. I didn't hear this depth from Jung Lin's performance of this fantasie. Since when did speed supplant artistry?

  • Horowitz is a wonderful pianist! a privilege to hear him! Thank you, shrinkingglasses. Happy New Year to you!

  • A wonderful pianist! a privilege to hear him! Thank you, shrinkingglasses. Happy New Year to you!

  • A real master. When he plays everything makes sense suddenly. He serves music and not the opposite. Thank you master...

  • The Last Recording

    October 20, 24, 27, 31 & November 1, 1989 and he dies on 5 november 1989

  • AMAZING....

    thats all i can say, simply amazing

  • AMAZING

  • love horowitz's intepretation. =3

  • Horowitz always hits it on the head when he plays the GREAT CLASSICS!!!

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  • I feel like I'm Chris Farley in that SNL skit where he's tripping over the furniture.. when I play this. Horowitz is flying around like tinker bell.

  • @GreatUnwashedMass : That means when you play feel like you live in a VAN....DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!!!! :)

  • @GreatUnwashedMass If we were practicing 10 to 12 hours a day, the skit would change.... maybe. For me, I relate to the Chris Farley skit (although he performed from some level of confidence as well, no?). I'm convinced there's a psychological prelude that is at the core, a self-confidence and peace with oneself that enables such sounds. (Just trying to figure out my own ineptitude.. or, maybe the inner that projects the outer DOES emenate from "practice-practice-practice."

  • @Catlovertea4 he was very lazy and practiced around 2-4 hrs a day

  • @audreyhsux5727 Interesting. You know this for a fact? Well, I bet he was a naturally great dancer too, then.

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  • fucking amazing!!!

  • Yundi Li version is nice too

  • Ah, but Horowitz was such a master of Chopin. His playing here is astonishing.

  • Another piece that killed my piano career. So many, many notes.

  • Bellísima interpretación del maestro Horowitz, bravo maestro!

  • Did you know I can play piano just like Horowitz? Yes, I use two hands and ten fingers just like him. Of course the notes don't come out exactly like his but I sit at the bench just like him. Now if only I could find middle C......

  • @goodchessactor Same! I can play just as quickly as Horowitz! The only downside is that the notes come out mumbled-jumbled and just plain bad, but maybe I can sell it to mainstream pop for a profit!

  • @foreverdream1 his interpretation/he brings the piece 'alive' with a master's touch on the keys-interpertation of each classic he plays amazes me with the full meaning of the song displayed by such precision and masterful touch on the keys.

  • I love Horowitz play Chopin...Horowitz and Jung Lin are the best, very very beautiful and much feeling

  • Very nice... I play like him and yundi li

  • Lola astanova is cure for horowitz....best player piano in the history of this instrument....all honor to horowitz...

  • BELISSIMO !!!

  • I like how he takes time to sing each note.

  • It's amazing, both the piece and the artist. It's amazing how Horowitz is able to capture every bit of emotion and the essence perfectly. He times everything as if his mind is one huge metronome and plays as if his fingers are drums, beating smaller and louder, at times. Chopin astounds me. How can he make such a beuatiful piece? Enough said.

  • i think i'm in love with him.

    chopin or horowitz, either is good.

  • Improvviso-fantasia più variazioni....XD

  • This piece is absolutely fantastic... It's like a flood of events/memories, each with its own unique feeling attached to it. I love rock music and sometimes liste to rap/hip hop.... But no music can compare to what some excellent songs in the hands fo great musicians can be..... And Horowitz is simply AMAZING

  • november 1, 1989!? damn 4 days before his death....

  • those 15 that dislike this misunderstood "dislike" for "dis i like", plus they have never heard romantic period music ever before

  • As my professor said: "The beauty of romantic music is that you don't control it, it controls you. "

  • @LeX140891 I respectfully disagree.

    It should be YOUR emotions coming out of the piano, not those of the composer. There a lot of people who can perfectly imitate the composer's emotion in a piece, but fail to put their own in it.

    I think that's what separates pianists from each other, those who have perfect technique and can perfectly imitate the composer's emotion, and those who make music with their own emotion in it.

    Unless I just totally misunderstood what you just said. =P

  • Its too fast, I think.