He has to have had his instrument set up in a very particular way to get that sound. You just can‘t produce it on most pianos, and for a good reason: With most repertoire it‘s inappropriate and banging. But in this context it sounds flabbergasting, absolutely astonishing. Like the sky comes crashing down. I have read that his piano was impossible to control for anyone but him because the sound would just immediately explode if you touch it too harsh ever so slightly. His level of control makes it possible for him to play on a piano that can, when necessary, produce this kind of sound.
It does take a lot of knowledge of polyrhythms and good dynamics, but once you learn a few of his pieces the rest become easier. It's just very hard to get the hang of the style because it's so different from most other composers that you'd start out with. Album Leaf is probably a good litmus test for if you could play his simpler tunes, in my opinion.
@@Art-bk6vv I found Album Leaf in a random music book, have to say it's quite beautiful, normally not a big fan of that level of dissonance. Not too difficult either.
Notes wise, it's what you expect from really hard music, but what's even worse is how hard it is to process his music when learning it. Plus, he has really weird ways of making pieces hard.
@@bobomber I have a book with his album leaf in e flat also, maybe we have the same book ? There's Chopin and Liszt and many others in there too but I forget the name of the book
when Horowitz is taking off his jacket you know shit's about to get real. He does such a fantastic job building up the sound in the piece - those high chords at the end really do sound like flickers of flame.
Unbelievable, how could he make it sound like the notes were reverberating across all corners of a massive concert hall but in fact it was just his living room? The maestro is a magician indeed.
Scriabin was the father of "colour" music. He tried to render in this piece what it takes to overcome the flame with its intense heat; this is the acme of Impressionism. And yes, he was as crazy as any other creative genius - Dostoyevsky or Beethoven. Because all Russian nobles used French in their everyday communication, the name of this piece is also in French. It means "Countering the Flame".
I heard him play this LIVE in Wash DC when I was a student at DAR Constitution Hall. Believe it or not this was the final piece of four encores he played on a full recital program. I'll never forget it and when I finally saw the score I realized that he added notes in the bass and filled in some chords and rearranged (as he always does) the tremelos so they could be divided between the hands as they are in the climax of Sonate 10
What a privilege it must had been to see him perform in Washington DC. I was born and raised in the DC area, but Horowitz died 2 months after I was born.
hank..d..Nr. 1,2,3,4 are pretty straightforward ..not too many complex rhythms patterns etc...the real problems start with nr.5 being a pivotal work introducing the tremendous complexities of the following Sonatas..The above Poeme does not really propose too many reading difficulties but rather execution-wise like the very complex cross-rhythms f.e...the tremolos etc. and above all ..dynamics..Listen to Richter playing this Poem and the Poeme-Nocturne as well..transcendental..so much better than H.
Horowitz seems to be inhabited by Scriabin’s spirit as he plays this piece. The animated manner in which he performs Vers La Flame is quite uncharacteristic of him. Yet, the result is as stunningly brilliant as it is disturbingly unsettling.
I agree with you for the most part, but disagree that such an animated temperament was uncharacteristic for Horowitz. At least in my own study of his recordings and music, it’s not all that uncommon for the man to appear rather possessed (usually in quality, depth, and strength of sound). It often times seems that he is a conduit for sounds that are not of this world.
Horowitz/Scriabin - one of the very few musical combos that give me goosebumps. Came of age while VH was among us, and have many VH and AS CD's and LP's, but it's always the Horowitz Scriabin I go back to. Nothing else comes close.
Btw what was the feeling of growing up with all those CDs and LPs, when most of the people listened to other sort of music and for some it's funny to see these two coming together? I'm curious of your point of view, especially some years ago, how was it back then?
His concentration and command! You feel it when he just starts talking about the piece! An artist has to be a generalissimo in his realm, and no one was more so in the realm of the piano than VH.
@@musical_lolu4811 He actually said "kink". "I'm a kink." What a pity we can't ask his German chauffeur/lover from the thirties for his opinion about that statement... 😇
@@Pogouldangeliwitz It is sad he couldn't live his life as he felt, although we might not have so great music today if he wasn't suffering. Who knows, maybe he would suffer even more if allowed.
If you learn this piece from this spectacular performance you will never be able to endure hearing it played by anyone else. No one else could ever come close to so completely fulfilling its musical, its emotional, or its technical demands as does Horowitz. NOBODY!
John Ogdon’s rendition is utterly marvelous and much closer to the score. Not *as* explosive as Horowitz - which you can forgive anyone for - but a far greater sense of direction. You really feel the journey from nothingness all the way to the cataclysmic dissolution of the universe.
Preety sure that this man, in his 70s, an age that most are already retired, weak and frail, has more force than me, a healthy 16 year old, srsly, how does someone do this at this age By far my favourite recording of this piece, absolute insanity
I love listening to Horowitz talk at the beginning- as sophisticated and well trained a musician as he was, he talks of the piece and approaches it with an uncluttered simplicity and directness.
holy crap I've played this piece since high school & have never SEEN a performance until now- would never have even occurred to me to use BOTH HANDS on those tremolos 😵
This excerpt was my exposure to Scriabin in the mid ‘90’s on PBS during college. Now, I have many Horowitz boxes and Scriabin boxes. Life changer. Yet, here are again wondering about flames and life and longevity and what the hell are we doing? Again.
Здесь Горовиц исполняет эту вещ даже лучше, чем в молодости. И вообще, это лучшее исполнение из тех, что я когда-либо слышал. Лучше, наверное, невозможно.
How did audiences respond when Horowitz played this piece in concert? I would think this would be his last piece and they would all stand up and cheer. Totally amazing and awesome was VH!
He is known to have performed it in concert 10 times during his career. Prior to his first retirement in the 1950's, he played it as one of three or four Scriabin works, generally in the first half of his concert. He ceased performing it thereafter until coming out of his second retirement in1974, when he performed it three times in a few months, as his final encore during a U.S. tour. He isn't known to have played it in concert therafter.
“Take off my jacket” and “Be prepared for big sound” says it all about how difficult this piece really is, y'know Horowitz means business when he takes off his jacket
not sure, but I think it's intentional just because, in the same interview he stated that he doesn't move a lot like modern pianists and doesn't like to do that. (maybe that's the case?)
It is always been an exceptional experience to HEAR Horowitz play this Scriabin piece but to be able to WATCH him execute it as well is completely through the roof. Thank you for this post!
Partition fabuleuse de Scriabin, gravée dans le marbre par V.H qui reste malgré son grand age de l'époque est la référence pour des siècles voir l'eternité si elle peut exister !
What would Scriabin have gone on to do had he lived? A double tragedy that his son Julian, who showed signs of precocious talent, died at the age of 11.
🎹🎹🎹 I will now tell you the secret to Horowitz' Magic... It is his unique use of Dynamics... the sudden, the very stark, and the unexpected shift in dynamics... which he employs like no other artist... That is it. 🎹🎹🎹
Wonderful rendition of the great Horowitz of one of one of my favourite piece. Vers la flamme is , imho, very figurative, you approach a burning candle flame, moving, and as a symbol in 1914 you approach the war. For Scriabin ist was world's end through heat accumulation in Scriabin crazy mind... funny how climatic changes sound weirdly similar. If people discover Scriabin through this, I would recommend the interpretations of Sofronitski which was one of Scriabin student.
I wonder if it was possible to play something soft, like Schuman or Chopin, in a concert after this piece. I feel like that must be very difficult, especially physically.
Imagine doing an entire Messiaen Vingt Regards and This, then play a simple Op.28 slow prelude (like no.4 or 7) My mind will be like : "I AM BARTOK!" "PIANO PERCUSIVO!"
He seemed so inspired and excited to share this performance, this piece must have really meant something to him. I remember back when this was posted and all us online piano degenerates freaking out about it lol
What could this sheet music possibly even look like to the average pianist like me? I've haven't seen a copy yet, but I really wanna look for it now. I have to see this!
Difficulty level: "Hold my jacket"
Yessir
His piano lated reported him for violence 😳
Funny!!😃
And said by Howoritz
lol
When Horowitz says it's difficult, it is
😂
it's not
@@null8295 lol
@@null8295 I think to play it with any form of authenticity or sincerity is very difficult, hence difficult piece
@@null8295 Don't let your ego thrive thru you when we're talking about Horowitz here, he was HIM.
Fun fact: Horowitz played for Scriabin when he was 10 and Scriabin told his parents that he was extremely talented
And then he died a year later, poor guy
He told him he needed more practice and to become immersed in art literature and history, very good advice
And damn how right he was
scriabin was a fortuneteller
@@mahakala and a visionary
His left hand octaves always sound like gunshots.
5:49 is a howitzer
No it's more like a cannonshot
@@brucedavies8154 a horowitzer lololololololol
@@brucedavies8154 6:32 as well
He has to have had his instrument set up in a very particular way to get that sound. You just can‘t produce it on most pianos, and for a good reason: With most repertoire it‘s inappropriate and banging. But in this context it sounds flabbergasting, absolutely astonishing. Like the sky comes crashing down. I have read that his piano was impossible to control for anyone but him because the sound would just immediately explode if you touch it too harsh ever so slightly. His level of control makes it possible for him to play on a piano that can, when necessary, produce this kind of sound.
He set off the damn fire alarm with that performance
He made the flames too real 🔥🥵🔥
This was learned after only 6 months of simply piano
Underrated joke right there
😂😂
correction two weeks
Playground Sessions has entered the chat
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
To be fair, almost everything Scriabin wrote was difficult.
It does take a lot of knowledge of polyrhythms and good dynamics, but once you learn a few of his pieces the rest become easier. It's just very hard to get the hang of the style because it's so different from most other composers that you'd start out with. Album Leaf is probably a good litmus test for if you could play his simpler tunes, in my opinion.
@@Art-bk6vv I found Album Leaf in a random music book, have to say it's quite beautiful, normally not a big fan of that level of dissonance. Not too difficult either.
Notes wise, it's what you expect from really hard music, but what's even worse is how hard it is to process his music when learning it. Plus, he has really weird ways of making pieces hard.
Those left hands are impossible for me
@@bobomber I have a book with his album leaf in e flat also, maybe we have the same book ? There's Chopin and Liszt and many others in there too but I forget the name of the book
when Horowitz is taking off his jacket you know shit's about to get real.
He does such a fantastic job building up the sound in the piece - those high chords at the end really do sound like flickers of flame.
Unbelievable, how could he make it sound like the notes were reverberating across all corners of a massive concert hall but in fact it was just his living room? The maestro is a magician indeed.
I imagine Alexander Scriabin sweating when he wrote this..
be prepared for big sound
Can't say he didn't warn us 😆
Incredible that the piano didn't melt down with this flame....Scriabin for sure was crazy.
Absolutely, to compose music like this you must be crazy.
www.wrightmusic.net/pdfs/scriabin-and-mental-illness.pdf
Scriabin was the father of "colour" music. He tried to render in this piece what it takes to overcome the flame with its intense heat; this is the acme of Impressionism. And yes, he was as crazy as any other creative genius - Dostoyevsky or Beethoven. Because all Russian nobles used French in their everyday communication, the name of this piece is also in French. It means "Countering the Flame".
I heard him play this LIVE in Wash DC when I was a student at DAR Constitution Hall. Believe it or not this was the final piece of four encores he played on a full recital program. I'll never forget it and when I finally saw the score I realized that he added notes in the bass and filled in some chords and rearranged (as he always does) the tremelos so they could be divided between the hands as they are in the climax of Sonate 10
What a privilege it must had been to see him perform in Washington DC. I was born and raised in the DC area, but Horowitz died 2 months after I was born.
Its amazing how he could memorize such complex music and retain it clearly for years. You should see the score of this piece. OH MY!
He even pimped it up at certain points.
The Sonatas 6,7,8,9,10 are much more difficult to read AND play..
ALL the sonatas are
hank..d..Nr. 1,2,3,4 are pretty straightforward ..not too many complex rhythms patterns etc...the real problems start with nr.5 being a pivotal work introducing the tremendous complexities of the following Sonatas..The above Poeme does not really propose too many reading difficulties but rather execution-wise like the very complex cross-rhythms f.e...the tremolos etc. and above all ..dynamics..Listen to Richter playing this Poem and the Poeme-Nocturne as well..transcendental..so much better than H.
Decades of devotion. A true gift.
Horowitz seems to be inhabited by Scriabin’s spirit as he plays this piece. The animated manner in which he performs Vers La Flame is quite uncharacteristic of him. Yet, the result is as stunningly brilliant as it is disturbingly unsettling.
I agree with you for the most part, but disagree that such an animated temperament was uncharacteristic for Horowitz. At least in my own study of his recordings and music, it’s not all that uncommon for the man to appear rather possessed (usually in quality, depth, and strength of sound). It often times seems that he is a conduit for sounds that are not of this world.
@@jackcurley1591 Love this
Not a connoisseur but first time I watched this , inexplicably , I was almost crying. I do not know why. Music.
"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, soften rocks,
and bend the knotted oak"
William Congreve
You comment is perfectly profound.☮️
Its Sign of deteriorating mental health
@@dan6219 Sorry for your deterioration. Maybe a visit to the shrink is in order.
@@dan6219 If our mental health is deteriorating, let’s let it deteriorate together :)
Horowitz/Scriabin - one of the very few musical combos that give me goosebumps. Came of age while VH was among us, and have many VH and AS CD's and LP's, but it's always the Horowitz Scriabin I go back to. Nothing else comes close.
For me it's between Horowitz's preternatural power and Sofronitsky's absolute kinship. Both are unparalleled.
Btw what was the feeling of growing up with all those CDs and LPs, when most of the people listened to other sort of music and for some it's funny to see these two coming together? I'm curious of your point of view, especially some years ago, how was it back then?
This is not a performance of a musical piece. Not even close. This is Horowitz sending permanent perturbations through the fabric of the universe.
His concentration and command! You feel it when he just starts talking about the piece! An artist has to be a generalissimo in his realm, and no one was more so in the realm of the piano than VH.
"See, when I'm on the stage I feel like I'm a king. I'm a king". VH.
@@musical_lolu4811 He actually said "kink".
"I'm a kink."
What a pity we can't ask his German chauffeur/lover from the thirties for his opinion about that statement... 😇
@@Pogouldangeliwitz It is sad he couldn't live his life as he felt, although we might not have so great music today if he wasn't suffering. Who knows, maybe he would suffer even more if allowed.
If you learn this piece from this spectacular performance you will never be able to endure hearing it played by anyone else. No one else could ever come close to so completely fulfilling its musical, its emotional, or its technical demands as does Horowitz. NOBODY!
John Ogdon’s rendition is utterly marvelous and much closer to the score. Not *as* explosive as Horowitz - which you can forgive anyone for - but a far greater sense of direction. You really feel the journey from nothingness all the way to the cataclysmic dissolution of the universe.
Not even Volodos version..so acclaimed
Preety sure that this man, in his 70s, an age that most are already retired, weak and frail, has more force than me, a healthy 16 year old, srsly, how does someone do this at this age
By far my favourite recording of this piece, absolute insanity
I’m obsessed w/ the way he plays the chord at 4:29
Imagine living underneath Horowitz's flat. Depending on who they were either a total pleasure, or a massive pain.
i would have enjoyed it. And i'd agree with Scriabin Sonatas or Poemes as a ringtone. 😂
I love listening to Horowitz talk at the beginning- as sophisticated and well trained a musician as he was, he talks of the piece and approaches it with an uncluttered simplicity and directness.
Master genius Horowitz, the impressionism of a song that is above our time to be understood...
holy crap I've played this piece since high school & have never SEEN a performance until now- would never have even occurred to me to use BOTH HANDS on those tremolos 😵
Wow, I love this interpretation of this piece. Horowitz was one of the few people who understood Scriabin.
A totally awesome testament to the greatest pianist that ever lived.
This excerpt was my exposure to Scriabin in the mid ‘90’s on PBS during college. Now, I have many Horowitz boxes and Scriabin boxes. Life changer. Yet, here are again wondering about flames and life and longevity and what the hell are we doing? Again.
Здесь Горовиц исполняет эту вещ даже лучше, чем в молодости. И вообще, это лучшее исполнение из тех, что я когда-либо слышал. Лучше, наверное, невозможно.
How did audiences respond when Horowitz played this piece in concert? I would think this would be his last piece and they would all stand up and cheer. Totally amazing and awesome was VH!
He is known to have performed it in concert 10 times during his career. Prior to his first retirement in the 1950's, he played it as one of three or four Scriabin works, generally in the first half of his concert. He ceased performing it thereafter until coming out of his second retirement in1974, when he performed it three times in a few months, as his final encore during a U.S. tour. He isn't known to have played it in concert therafter.
“Take off my jacket” and “Be prepared for big sound” says it all about how difficult this piece really is, y'know Horowitz means business when he takes off his jacket
It brings tears to my eyes to see my hero playing so well 🎼🎵🎶
I am in tears!!!! Omg!!!
I’m surprised by how much he moves while playing this piece, he is usually like a statue at the piano.
not sure, but I think it's intentional just because, in the same interview he stated that he doesn't move a lot like modern pianists and doesn't like to do that. (maybe that's the case?)
@@pietrosawanoI think he just really enjoys Scriabin he moved a lot while playing his etude op 8 no 12 as well
@@2174863 And also, he was doing the same thing while playing ballade No.1 in Carnegie Hall if I am not mistaken.
"Vers la flamme" is towards the flame.
But, "Verse" la flamme is "pour the flame". It's even more epic.
It is always been an exceptional experience to HEAR Horowitz play this Scriabin piece but to be able to WATCH him execute it as well is completely through the roof.
Thank you for this post!
5:55 to 6:05 witness what full-on wizard mode looks like. Hard be believe he was old at the time.
Imran! Still around these parts, I see ☺️
Scriabin’s brain just worked differently.
I love how the way he plays this piece is like being possessed by the piece itself
And happy 120th birthday maestro
🎹🎹🎹 I adore Scriabin. What a visionary! The piano becomes an orchestra
Priceless combustion. Thank you very much for uploading.
Bravo!
What a piece of music! what a pianist!
Partition fabuleuse de Scriabin, gravée dans le marbre par V.H qui reste malgré son grand age de l'époque est la référence pour des siècles voir l'eternité si elle peut exister !
"VERS la flamme" 'towards the flame' (NOT verse!)
Thank you!
This was amazing.
They were unimpressed, too bad, this piece is literal fire
Гений
That's it! Pure ecstasy!
Thank you for update this!!
What would Scriabin have gone on to do had he lived? A double tragedy that his son Julian, who showed signs of precocious talent, died at the age of 11.
I... really don't know.
You knows it's hard when Horowitz needs to take his jacket off 😎
🎹🎹🎹 I will now tell you the secret to Horowitz' Magic... It is his unique use of Dynamics... the sudden, the very stark,
and the unexpected shift in dynamics...
which he employs
like no other artist...
That is it. 🎹🎹🎹
Amazing he didn't knock over the lamp! Masterful!
Brilliant playing
oh, great Masters Horowitz-Scriabin!!!
Wonderful rendition of the great Horowitz of one of one of my favourite piece. Vers la flamme is , imho, very figurative, you approach a burning candle flame, moving, and as a symbol in 1914 you approach the war. For Scriabin ist was world's end through heat accumulation in Scriabin crazy mind... funny how climatic changes sound weirdly similar.
If people discover Scriabin through this, I would recommend the interpretations of Sofronitski which was one of Scriabin student.
me 2 love horowitz . thanks
Great punchline at the end!
Fingers directed by great ears= great pianist!
Combustible, on flames, gun powder...... Bravo!
INSANE!
It simple math really, difficult for Horowitz = impossible for 99.9999.... % of humanity.
Those piano keys are, indeed, in flame...
I wonder if it was possible to play something soft, like Schuman or Chopin, in a concert after this piece. I feel like that must be very difficult, especially physically.
I can imagine Träumerei after this. Or Scriabin’s Op 2 No 1 etude. It’s all about balance.
I have the idea to play in a concert first the easiest mozart sonata K282, then Schoenberg suite op 19 and after that Chopin's Ballade 2
This piece starts very softly too, but i's all about contrasts: embers versus raging flame
Imagine doing an entire Messiaen Vingt Regards and This, then play a simple Op.28 slow prelude (like no.4 or 7)
My mind will be like : "I AM BARTOK!" "PIANO PERCUSIVO!"
Ahh so this is where Sorabji got his opening theme to his first sonata.
He seemed so inspired and excited to share this performance, this piece must have really meant something to him. I remember back when this was posted and all us online piano degenerates freaking out about it lol
My heart stopped.
My idol
He and Jimmy Page for me.
Ecstatic.
Amazing! The French word is spelled " Vers" not "verse." Probably spellcheck did it.
The possession!
‘Mans not hot’
Чистый гений!
I bet it sounded a lot better in situ than muted CZcams version
🔥🔥🔥
Verry specialy
He knows how to perform!!
Wauw!
5:50 is the musical equivalent of the Tunguska Event 💥🎹💥
In the game ULTRAKILL, each act has at least one classical piece in it. I think in act 3, this piece should be used.
It is "Vers la flamme" (and not "verse"). Signification : "toward to fire"
Wow he played so wonderfully then said phew it’s so difficult like he couldnt play lol
I feel Scriabin.
The piece is called VERS la flamme
VEHR is how it is pronounced
4:09 when you smack your unruly child for being annoying.
the power in that last move is insane....... What technique is that.
What could this sheet music possibly even look like to the average pianist like me? I've haven't seen a copy yet, but I really wanna look for it now. I have to see this!
@Dhruva Punde Thank you!
Vers la flamme
Jesus yes
kind of reminds me of the chernobyl incident
Look at his fingers. :O
In his living room!!
Indeed very difficult to take
15 people are seriously nuts
This is where Jimmy Hendrix got it from.
This guy is good he should turn professional
I'd like to try the same substances as Scriabin...
Horowitz took off his jacket?
Ya either know or ya don’t.