''The Last Romantic'' is a documentary filmed within the home of concert pianist

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

. 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 house, 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 o ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. 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 Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

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 Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

, and

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

. Horowitz's wife,

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Poland, 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.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...

, 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 (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

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 ...

) # Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K330 (

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

) # 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 period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

) # 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 (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

) # 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 of ...

) # Novelette in F major, Op. 21 No. 1 (

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

) # Étude Op. 2 No. 1 in C-sharp minor (

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

) # 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 ki ...

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, Moszkowsky, or Moszkowska may refer to: * Alexander Moszkowski (1851–1934), Jewish Polish-German writer and satirist * Moritz Moszkowski (1854–1925), Romantic-era composer and Alexander's brother * Róża Etkin-Moszkowska (1908� ...

) #

Au bord d'une source ''Au bord d'une source'' ("Beside a Spring") is a piano piece by Franz Liszt; it is the 4th piece of the first suite of '' Années de Pèlerinage'' ("Years of Pilgrimage"). There are three separate versions of ''Au bord d'une source''. The firs ...

(Liszt)

References

External links

''Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic''
at the

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''Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic''
at

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{{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