Chopin's Études, Op. 10, dedicated to Liszt, demand extreme power and virtuosity from the performer, yet for Chopin, virtuosity always serves the poetic essence of the music.
Critical Reception
Liszt's Sonata in B minor, dedicated to Schumann, was considered sublime by Wagner but 'terrible, too confused and full of noise' by Clara Schumann, and Brahms reputedly fell asleep during a performance by Liszt himself.
Composer Biography
Chopin, who dedicated his first volume of piano Studies to Liszt, preferred Pleyel pianos for their clear, silvery timbre, while Liszt favored the powerful sound of Érard instruments.
Composer's Artistic Vision
According to Théophile Gautier, the composers of the 1810 generation, including those on this album, strove for 'the ideal, the poetry and the freedom of art'.
Historical Context
The composers Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, and Berlioz, all born around 1810, are considered one of the most gifted generations in musical history.
Composer Biography
Schumann, who dedicated his Kreisleriana to Chopin, was deeply influenced by the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, a figure in German Romantic literature who fascinated Schumann with his blend of the real and the fantastic.
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Chopin & Liszt Recital
Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall, New York City, May 9, 1965
Vladimir Horowitz in Recital at Symphony Hall, Boston, April 13, 1980
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Für Elise - Romantische Klavierstücke
Encores
Horowitz: The Historic Return; Carnegie Hall 1965; The 1966 Concerts
Chopin & Chopin / Arr Godowsky : Etudes
Chopin: Ballade No.1, Liszt: Aprés une lecture du Dante & Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1
Liszt: Sonata in B Minor - Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet - Chopin: Ballade No. 1, Op. 23
