Chopin / Schumann / Rachmaninoff / Liszt, Vladimir Horowitz, LP

Horowitz's "Chopin Sonata" comes close an ideal realization. The gimmicks are absent and that decision makes sense in the Chopinesque context. The "Funeral March is played with an icy cold touch, most impressive and "The Finale" is breathtakin in it's shimmering speed. Rachmaninoff is steely under his hands, and driven to a tremendous climax. Schumann is charmingly played, without the usual Horowitz artifice. He must have loved this piece. Finally Liszt: Horowitz made it more complicated and more showy than Liszt did himself. It certainly is a colossal tour de force of brilliant pianism. This 1962 recording has been flawlessly remastered with depth and musicality. A master at his best.