Announced December 4, 2009, Sony Masterworks announced a collection of historic recordings, photographs and history highlighting pianist Vladimir Horowitz: the 70-CD box set Vladimir Horowitz: The Complete Original Jacket Collection; Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall: The Private Collection, Haydn & Beethoven; and Vladimir Horowitz: The Legendary Berlin Concert, 18th May 1986.
The 70-CD Vladimir Horowitz: The Complete Original Jacket Collection assembles all of the pianist's recordings from the prime of his career. All of Horowitz's recordings for RCA Red Seal and Columbia Masterworks/Sony Classical are here, including four discs that feature the first release in any format of two complete live Horowitz recital recordings, from 1951 and 1967. Each recording from the catalogue has been restored to its original LP album format and is presented individually in a sleeve reproducing the original album art. The set offers his interpretations of works by Beethoven, Chopin, Clementi, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scarlatti, Schumann, and Scriabin.
Vladimir Horowitz at Carnegie Hall: The Private Collection continues with the third release of live recordings of the artist in recital in Carnegie Hall between 1945 and 1948. The current release includes Haydn's Sonata No. 62 for Piano in E-flat Major, as well as Beethoven's Waldstein and Moonlight Sonatas.
These live mono recordings were made at Horowitz's behest for his personal use, and donated to Yale University by the artist in 1986, just three years before he left us. Originally contained on 12- and 16-inch acetate discs, the recordings have been remastered for this release, with the sound carefully restored, based on new transfers made from the archival masters in the Yale collection. Two previously unreleased recordings of Mussorgsky and Liszt, as well as Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, and Balakirev are included.
On Sunday, May 18, 1986, Vladimir Horowitz performed a historic recital before a sold-out audience. Careful remastering of the original analogue sources has resulted in the new two-disc album, Vladimir Horowitz: The Legendary Berlin Concert, 18th May 1986. Featuring never-before-available performances of works by Scarlatti, Schumann, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Chopin, and Moszkowski.
A three-part podcast series featuring interviews with Horowitz expert Jon M. Samuels, producer Steve Epstein, and author David Dubal is available at http://podcasts.sonybmgmasterworks.com/