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Horowitz had played the 1913 version of the work for his graduation recital from the Kiev Conservatory, not to mention in many of his concerts in the earlier years. Interestingly, after the final piece of his graduation recital, Liszt's Don Juan Fantasy, the entire panel of teachers all stood up. It was the first time that had ever happend. When he saw the revision, he, along with others, realized the piece just wasn't the same anymore. It was no longer in thae 'grand manner' that is so often associated with Rachmaninoff's works. Horowitz prepared a combination of the two versions and presented it to Rachmaninoff and Rachmaninoff readily agreed. Rachmaninoff once said that "he plays my second sonata better that I." My best description of the revision is that Horowitz included many of the cuts that Rachmaninoff made, but when Rachmaninoff changed passagework, Horowitz used the revised version. There are of course, excpetions, but this is an aproximate description. John Browning formulated the Horowitz version presented below using the 1968 Columbia (Sony) recording. I have added an addendum to this which outlines, more specifically, the changes that Horowitz made in his other recordings and performances. For those who wish to perform to Horowitz's ideals, he favored his 1980 recording with RCA over the 1968 on Columbia (Sony). He said that it wasn't better or worse, but "it's different." Horowitz played this work in concert in the West for the first time during the 1967-68 season. From early 1975 through the , he frequently performed the third movement as an encore. He played the entire sonata for the 1979-80 season. He played it, I believe, for the last time in public in London at the charity concert for Prince Charles on May 28, 1982. The picture in the upper left shows Horowitz after striking the last chords at the end of his last performance. Regarding the later performances of this work, it was said that 'the years just fell away.' Horowitz was already 78 in 1982. Around 1987, Horowitz seriously considered recording this work again. He said to David Dubal, "I can still do it!" Unfourtunately we never had the opportunity to hear this impression of the piece. One of the great losses in recorded music(in my opinion). It was once said of Horowitz regarding this piece especially that
he was guilty of the "heinus crime of making music sound better
than it is." I feel, instead, that it took a Horowitz to really
know what Rachmaninoff was saying in this piece and to express it
effectively. There is also a funny anecdote regarding Horowitz and
this piece. In a live performance in 1968 Horowitz was in the middle
of the second movement and a string broke on his Steinway (CD 186)
Horowitz turned this tragedy into an opportunity. That is to say,
when his tecnician came out to replace the string Horowitz leaned
over and said "Take your time, this is really good!" He
then picked up where he left off without begining the movement and
completed what even critics say was his most powerful and lucid
performance of the work. John Browning's formula for the 1968 Recording:
Alterations from Browning's Formula
for the Horowitz Version
Further Minor Alterations
If you have any further ideas of any major changes that I have not included, please E-mail me! Here's a picture of the last bars, Horowitz style. |
