THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 22.10 “Typo requoey Page: eyo Thursday,Decambo 03, 2000 NEWYORK NY dona) Newspazor (0) er Horowitz at Carnegie Hall ‘By Davio Mermexst Fs centuries, performing musicians were at best a ghostly presence after Shuffling off their mortal coils. They might have been recollected ina memoir, or referred to ob- Aiguely in conversation the way the dinner-party guests mention certain hal-remembered singers {in James Joyce's “The Dead.” Yet dead pretty much meant dead for them until the advent of com- ‘mercial recordings near the tum. of the 20th century. That changed everything, Want to hear Robert Johnson's inimitable blues recordings? We Ihave them. What about Tosca- nini? No problem. Casals Heifetz..- Elvis? Be determined enough, and you'l find their complete released recordings in fone form or another. But the key ‘word here is released. Though ‘muse lovers don’t always realize it, musicians also make record- {ngs that go unheard, or atleast ‘unissued, The reasons vary. Sorte of the performances were deemed artistially inferior, While others were tracks that couldn’ fit on a given album or mementos made solely for the artists pleasure or study. ‘These scraps of history once rmoldered away, largely forgotten. But something fundamental shifted midway through the last century, as recordings sup- planted live performances in pro- ‘mulgating an artist's fame. A m- sician could appear in public only so often, but there was no limit to recor sales once albums (and now downloads) were priced within most people's reach. And this is what has motivated record labels and artists’ estates to plumb archives for things never intended for public exhibition—a desire to extend the posthumous life ofthese performers. ‘What the artists themselves would say about such efforts is Impossible to know. Some might be delighted; others, surely cha- srined. Yet it hardly matters, for the consideration that once ‘suanded their reputations no lon- ger exists. Gone, too, are many of, their closest relatives and the re- cord producers who helped shape their performances. ‘All of which brings us to vladimir Horowitz at Camegie Hall—The Private Collection,” a series of three CDs from Sony ‘Music bearing the imprint of Car- negie Hall and RGA Red Seal, one of Horowitz's longtime record la- bels. Horowitz, who died in 1989, ‘may wel be the most famous pi- ‘nist of the 20th century, but his Immense talent only partly ac- ‘counts for his renovn. His out- size personality and its quirks made great fodder for newspa pers and magazines. And they ‘continue to endear him to his fans—and to outrage his detrac- tors—almost as much as his Dio- nysian keyboard technique. Horowitz was a prolific re- cording artist, and the majority of his studio recordings remain ‘easily obtainable. But that hasn't kept his biggest fans from pant- ing over a series of private re- coreings he had made from 1945, to 1950, preserving on acetate discs 15 of his Carnegie Hall con- certs. The recordings were ap- parently intended to edify the pi- anist, and he kept them until shortly before his death, when he donated them to Yale Univer- sity’s musi library a the urging of the producer Thomas Frost. In the mid-1990s, Mr. Frost supervised the release om CD of, two volumes of this material, ‘consisting mainly of short pieces by composers with whom Horowitz had an enduring asso- ber—though many ofthe works ‘were new to the pianist’ diseog- raphy. That music was approved, for commercial release by Horowitz's widow, the formida- ble Wanda Toscanini Horowitz, Dut there were also recordings from these concerts that she ‘would not let come before the public, including her husband's sole preserved account of Mily Balakirev’s dazzlingly virtuosic Oriental fantasy “Islamey,” a ‘work she felt beneath his artistry ‘even as generations oF his fans ‘have hungered for it "Her death in 1998 should have removed any impediments, but only now has Sony Masterworks, ‘which controls the RCA and Co- lumbia classical catalogs, re- sumed what Mr. Frost began, The rnew discs have been carefully ‘transferred by Jon Samuels, who also worked on the earlier re- leases. Some significant noise ‘mars the listening experience, deterioration being inevitable such source material, but the artistry remains peerless. ‘wo of the discs are already avallable—the third arrives carly next year—and so far the highlights include Schu- ‘man’s “Fantasy,” @ major work that was a cornerstone ofthe fa- ‘mous 1965 Camegie Hall concert in which Horowitz returned to the stage after a 12-year absence. ‘This account from 1946, on vol lume two, possesses the pianist’s Ihallmarks—thundering octaves, poetic lyricism, a veritable rain Dow of tone colors and a jaw Aropping ability to shade dynam: iesbut also @ welcome rhap- odie quality absent fom the iter version. ‘A 1948 performance of Mus- sorgshy’s “Pictures at an Exhibi- tion” on the first of these dises may strike Horowitz aficionados as an odd addition given the availabilty of two other record ings of this work by him from al- ‘most the same time: a 1947 stu- dio release and another live CCammegie account, from 1951 Stil, there plenty to savor in this iter= ation, not least the kaleidoscopic ‘effects he achieves through con trolled pedaling and fearsome fin- ‘ger work—to say nothing of his tweaks to the seore. see's minor Sonata aecom- ‘panies “Pictures” and provides a ‘valuable snapshot of the pianist {in midcareer. Horowitz made a classic record of the piece in 1922, but this 1949 interpretation is no less vital and somewhat more reflective. As for the “Islamey” that so upset Mrs. Horowitz, it proves Just as thrilling as” expected. ‘True, it lacks the heft of Sehu- ‘mann “Fantasy.” with which I's Account 4020¥0 (3162) Page 1 of2THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Date Thursday,Decambo 03, 2000 dona) Nawspazor (0) Bir paired, but the pianist nonethe- less places his gifs in its service, elevating it to something beyond a showpiece, ‘The performance’s wide aall- ability might make Mrs. Horow- itz tum inher grave, but it's hard ‘to imagine her mercurial lms- ‘band sharing her disapproval. n- stead, one pictures him grinning ‘widely, celebrating renewed life from beyond. ‘Mr. Mermelstein writes for the Journal on classical music ‘and film Arelease of recordings closely guarded by the classical pianist’s widow. Account A020¥6 (162) Page 2 of2