''The Last Romantic'' is a documentary filmed within the home of concert pianist
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...
. The film contains mainly performances of classical works, but also provides an intimate look into Horowitz's private life.
Description
''The Last Romantic'' is a documentary filmed at Vladimir Horowitz's
townhouse
A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
. It features many performances of some of the pieces of Horowitz's favorite repertoire and sheds light on his thoughts and opinions on music.
During the film Horowitz often jokes and talks about his favorite composers: his friend
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
,
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
, and
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...
. Horowitz's wife,
Wanda
Wanda is a female given name of Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda."''Behind the Name.'' Accessed on August 12, 2010. The name has long been popular in ...
, also contributes her share to the discussions; she shows photo albums and reminisces about their past.
Performances
These are the pieces performed in the film (In order of performance):
#
Chorale Prelude BWV659 ''Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland'' (
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...
arr.
Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary f ...
)
#
Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K330 (
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
)
#
Impromptu in A-flat major, D899 No. 4 (
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
)
#
Mazurka No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4 (
Chopin)
#
Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 (Chopin)
#
Consolation, S. 172 No. 3 in D flat major (
Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
)
#
Prelude Op. 32 No. 12 in G-sharp minor (
Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...
)
#
Novelette in F major, Op. 21 No. 1 (
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
)
#
Étude Op. 2 No. 1 in C-sharp minor (
Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...
)
#
Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque' (Chopin)
Outtakes
Three additional performances were released as a bonus
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
from the 2003 release ''Horowitz Live and Unedited''.
Horowitz Live and Unedited at web.telia.com
/ref>
# Etude in G-flat major, Op. 10 No. 5 (Chopin)
#Etude in F major, Op. 72 No. 6 (Moszkowski Moszkowski may refer to:
* Alexander Moszkowski ( pl, Aleksander Moszkowski; 1851–1934), Jewish Polish-German writer and satirist
* Moritz Moszkowski ( pl, Maurycy Moszkowski; 1854–1925), Romantic-era composer and Alexander's brother
** List of ...
)
# Au bord d'une source (Liszt)
References
External links
''Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic''
at the Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
''Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic''
at Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Last Romantic
Vladimir Horowitz
1985 television films
1985 films
1985 in music
Concert films
Documentary films about classical music and musicians
Films about pianos and pianists
1985 documentary films
American documentary films
1980s American films