Vladimir Horowitz’s 1962 remake of Chopin’s Funeral March Sonata is quicker, lighter in texture, rhythmically steadier, and less pulled about than his earlier RCA mono version. In the first movement, for instance, Horowitz eschews the exposition repeat he previously observed and enlivens the bass lines with unexpected accents and changes of color. The Scherzo is playful rather than driving, with a trio distinguished by diverse voicings and floating, polyphonic choreography. Clarity and point rather than graveyard wind and mystery characterize the unison octave finale–although, like many pianists of his generation (and his idol Rachmaninov) Horowitz places a tiny breath pause before the concluding two chords, softening the composer’s slamming surprise.
Horowitz’s F-sharp minor Polonaise matches Rubinstein’s pomp and swagger, albeit from a more demonic perspective (the ascending octave runs following the central mazurka are positively hair-raising!), although his terse, steel-edged A major Polonaise leaves a perfunctory imprint. The pianist makes the most of the Polonaise-Fantasie’s harmonic innovations and poetic introspection, in contrast to his tigerish, galvanic reading of the A-flat Polonaise. The B minor Scherzo makes a prickly, detail-oriented impression compared to Horowitz’s relatively sweeping and more straightforward live 1975 Carnegie Hall performance (issued by RCA on “Horowitz Rediscovered”). As is his wont, Horowitz plays the concluding scales as interlocking octaves.
The Fantasie Impromptu may be old hat for some, yet Horowitz recorded it for the first and only time just days before his death. He strips 150 years’ worth of accumulated interpretive kitsch and cloying grime from the middle section, playing it stone straight. Sony’s remastered sound offers subtle improvement upon previous releases, but not to the point where you need to upgrade your Horowitz collection.
