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Horowitz a Reminiscence DVD Beware

Priorityviolins | Westerville, OH USA | 05/01/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"I have the old VHS version of Horowitz A Reminiscence and it has three parts. The first part runs about 55 minutes and is about the life of Horowitz. The second part is a beautiful performance of the Chopin Intro and Rondo Op. 16 played in his home. The third part is a large portion of the 1982 London recital including the Rachmaninoff Sonata no. 2. So when I purchased this new DVD release of Horowitz A Reminiscence, I was expecting to get the same program that I have on the VHS. They both have the same title "Horowitz A Reminiscence " and the same cover art work. To my surprise, only the first 55-minute part featuring the life of Horowitz is on this new DVD. Parts 2 and 3 are not included. I assumed that when a VHS title is re-issued on DVD, it will contain the same material. This is not the case for Horowitz A Reminiscence. So beware if you are purchasing this new DVD thinking you will get the same program that was on the original VHS. You will not! I am sending back this pathetic DVD for a refund."

Doubly disappointing

Hank Drake | Cleveland, OH United States | 05/02/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Vladimir Horowitz--A Reminiscence, is aptly named. For Horowitz fans, it will bring back memories of all the familiar moments--the collaborations with Toscanini, the 1965 return to Carnegie Hall, the 1986 Moscow concert--but offers little that is new. There is no interview footage with other musicians, collaborators, or members of the Horowitz inner circle. The only figure shown, aside from Horowitz himself, is the pianist's widow, Wanda Toscanini Horowitz. She recites the usual anecdotes, prompted by an off camera Peter Gelb--Horowitz's manager during the 1980s. Wanda, who arguably knew Horowitz better than anybody, avoids delving into certain aspects of his non-musical life--she is even sketchy as to whether the pianist's 1953 crisis, which brought on a 12-year retirement from public performance, was a nervous breakdown, or collitis, or both. Other aspects of Horowitz's life, ranging from his homosexuality to the tragic fate of his Russian family (aside from his sister, no one in Horowitz's immediate family survived Stalin's reign), to his disastrous 1983 concert in Japan are not mentioned at all.

Another annoying factor is the almost total reliance on performance footage which has been available for years--the Moscow recital, the 1982 London recital, etc. Aside from some grainy home movies and excerpts from an abandoned 1974 documentary, there is nothing new here. It would have been a treat to see excerpts from his 1968 Carnegie Hall recital, the 1978 White House recital, or the 1978 Rachmaninoff Third concerto performance with Mehta. The pianist's 1983 Tokyo recital was filmed and was wisely never released. Only the inclusion of a stunning performance of Scriabin's Vers la Flamme prevents this issue from receiving only one star. There are a few moments of insight here, but one cannot escape the impression that this material was thrown together by Sony Classical for one purpose, to sell records. With an artist of Horowitz's stature, that could well be reason enough--but there could have been so much more. Hopefully, someday someone will put together a real documentary about this elusive figure.

To add to the sense of disappointment, Kultur video has only included the 55 minute documentary for the DVD release. An additional hour of material included in the VHS and Laserdisc release has been excised, apparently at the request of Sony.


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Don't blame Kultur!

Derek C. Oppen | Charlottesville, Va United States | 05/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I complained to Kultur about the missing material. They told me Sony had insisted it not be included. But still what remains is wonderful."