Re: Gould vrs Horowitz?

[Pooya Woodcock <pooya@math.umd.edu>]

On Wed, Apr 25, 2001 at 11:44:58AM -0600, Sara Meneses wisely wrote:
-> Does anyone know for sure if there was a rivalry between Gould and
-> Horowitz?, I have read a lot about Gould and honestly it would be hard for
-> me to believe that someone like him, would really dislike someone else. Of

Greetings everyone,

I can see how Gould would dislike Horowitz...

I hate to have to admit this, but I don't think Horowitz is all that people
see him to be. I mean, he certainly has the emotion and the vigor and the
blah blah you know what I mean. But, many times, I feel that he "messes up".
When I hear his Rachmaninov etudes-tableaux, for instance, he seems to rush
at the end. (See Op.39 no.9 Dmajor, e.g.) In most of his Liszt, particularly
in his older years, many notes are clustered or mushy or just plain incorrect.
Am I alone in this perception of Horowitz? I still admire and acknowledge him
as a great virtuoso pianist, but I consider Gould (and Evgeny Kissin, for
that matter) to be on a completely different playing field. Gould has
absolute ingenuity, personality, and a crisp, clear, finger technique
that is truly exceptional. Also, didn't Horowitz have to lug around his
own piano to each performance? What kind of a pianist does that?! I'm
a pianist myself, and I've had to play on some <ahem> <cough> rugged
pianos in my history, but you don't see me whine :)

On the other hand, let me note that Horowitz has had a great history
of crisp "flattery" piano music, as in his Moszkowski etudes and
transcriptions of Saint-Saens. And so, all I'm saying is that Gould is
exceptional 100% of the time, whereas Horowitz is only on occasion.
Thoughts?  Perhaps all of the recordings I have of Horowitz are messed
up -- I am slightly doubtful of my perception of Horowitz, since
so many others have praised him. But who knows. I wish I could have gone
to a live performance of him -- AND GOULD -- so that I could make a
truly authentic comparison of the two.

Of course, it is clear that Horowitz and Gould had really different
takes on live performance. Horowitz was The Man to see for live
performances. This may have accumulated to Gould's distaste in
Horowitz's style, but as I said, who knows. I'd be interested
in any written comments Gould had about other pianists. Does anyone
care to share any good ones, assuming they exist?

I wish I could say more, but I have three exams tomorrow.  :-/

-- Pooya