Horowitz Slow Motion

What are your thoughts? Rachmaninoff Sonata 2 3rd movement Carmen fantasy

This is completely fascinating. The tremendous elasticity of his hands, and above all the tremendous rhythmic impulsion coming from his arms, which is much less visible when you watch it at speed. I've never seen hands that seem so completely the sheer manifestation of mind, of musical thought. At this speed as well you perceive much more clearly the vast changes in dynamics he used so often to such great effect in creating the illusion of orchestra. Thanks for finding this! AFF

Hi Really great clips my first thought was that he really keeps up a strong arch with no collapse. Before watching the DVD I wouldn't even have noticed it easy to get the wrong ideas with Horowitz because everything is so refined and optimal. And it looks like he uses his upper arm a lot also keeping the wrists pretty imovable at times. Looks like the triceps are very much in play? Best regards Eric

It also looks like he is getting power from his back in the final chords of the carmen fantasie. I might be wrong about that. Unlike the slow motion videos from the 20s, these videos have sound, so his dynamics and voicing become much clearer. Another thing that becomes clear is how precisely he strikes his chords. Even at slow motion the notes of the chords sound absolutely together.

There's also a Black Key Etude there that I never saw before. It's obvious that his 'arch', the bridge of his hand, is rock solid - that's why his fingers can move so cleanly from it. His hand is not messed up with any of this relaxation bullroar. The precision of touch comes from good physical organization - there are no anomalies anywhere. We live and learn! AFF

Hi Discovered there are several Horowitz slowmotion out there.Very instructive. Here is a nice one with Rach3. It's not armweight it's a whip and a cobra. But most of the time the fingers are in contact with the keys. Eric

More, more, send me more! These are so amazing for me! You feel all the passion and intensity and mental clarity of the performance at speed, and yet it's intesified even further because of the slow-mo. You can sense his PROCESS. The utter psychic calm he displays is mind-boggling. It is mental clarity at the service of emotion. Oh yeah, and then there's his physical organization. I know I am supposed to be the physical guy, but I must say I am so blown away by these other elements that I hardly notice what he's doing physically... Thanks for posting this! AFF

Here is one from the final part of the Rachmaninoff sonata 3rd movement: Chopin Polonaise op. 44: Moszkowski etude, this one gives the closest look at his hands but it is silent: The same user also uploaded some rare recordings and videos of Horowitz and other great pianists. There are some video excerpts of Horowitz playing Clementi sonatas at his home and more.

Horowitz plays chopin introduction and rondo. Here is another Horowitz video you might not have seen. It is taken from 1974.

When I watch this it is just as always: I am WAY more impressed with his musicianship than with his technique. If you want to play like that, start trying to figure out where did his musical inspiration originate? How did he conceive such a fantasy-filled, elegant and musically evolved interpretation? His hands do what they do because his musical imagination requires those sounds of the instrument... Really, try forgetting about everything I've written and just experiment with sound and phrasing. See how far you get! As for the Chopin, for an alternate reading go to This is Misha Dacic (Datsich) recorded on a beatup old Steinway at our Academy in Novi Sad about 8 years ago, yours truly did the sound engineering and editing... You can hear how Misha is simultaneously so near and yet so far from the master... AFF