This is not a review, but a warning. If you’re a Vladimir Horowitz fan, you’ve probably heard these recordings elsewhere. The Tchaikovsky Concerto, dated “4 Maggio 1952 (dal vivo)” actually is the live January 12, 1953 performance (a real smoker, with Horowitz on pulverizing form), published in excellent sound on Palexa CD-0511, and reproduced here in a fuzzy transfer that’s pitched nearly a half-step sharp. The eight Horowitz encores that follow are not, as Urania claims, live performances but original RCA Victor studio recordings, all available on “Horowitz Encores” (RCA 7755-2-RG). At least Urania gets the dates correct for the studio material, which includes familiar Horowitz fare such as the Mendelssohn Wedding March and the pianist’s own variations on the Gypsy Song from Bizet’s Carmen. Urania seems to have sourced the RCA disc and applied a tiny, insignificant amount of noise reduction to its master. A release designed to lure unsuspecting Horowitz collectors into throwing their money away.
