Rachmaninov. Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No 3 (Rachmaninov), Piano Concerto No 1 (Tchaikovsky)

Vladimir Horowitz pf New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra / Sir John Barbirolli

APR mono APR5519 Buy now

(66’ · ADD) 

Recorded live 1940-41.

This is the Rachmaninov Third to end all Rachmaninov Thirds, a performance of such super-human pianistic aplomb, pace and virtuosity that it makes all comparisons, save with Horowitz himself, a study in irrelevance. Horowitz’s 1930 recording with Albert Coates made Arthur Rubinstein pale with envy; goodness knows how he’d have reacted had he heard Horowitz and Barbirolli! Taken from a 1941 New York broadcast (with apologies from the producer for snaps, crackles, pops and the like) Horowitz’s tumultuous, near-apocalyptic brilliance includes all his unique and tirelessly debated attributes; his swooning rubato, thundering bass and splintering treble, his explosive attack, his super-erotic inflexions and turns of phrase. Try the skittering scherzando variation just before the close of the central Intermezzo and note how the pianist’s velocity eclipses even his legendary recording with Fritz Reiner.

This ultimate wizard of the keyboard is in expansive mood in the Tchaikovsky. There are ample rewards, too, for those who rejoice in Horowitz at his most clamorous, for the thunder and lightning of this ‘Tornado from the Steppes’. The performance ends in what can only be described as a scream of octaves and an outburst by an audience driven near to hysteria. Barbirolli and the New York Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra are equal to just about every twist and turn of their volatile soloist’s argument and so these performances (and most notably the finale of the Rachmaninov) are simply beyond price.