The Last Romantic

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The Last Romantic
Horowitz - The Last Romantic.png
Horowitz during the film
Also known asVladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic
GenreBiography
Documentary
Music
Directed by David Maysles
Albert Maysles
Starring Vladimir Horowitz
Wanda Toscanini Horowitz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish [1] [2]
Production
Executive producerSusan Frömke
Producer Peter Gelb
Production location New York City
CinematographyAlbert Maysles
EditorsDeborah Dickson, Patricia Jaffe
Running time89 minutes
Production company Geneon (Pioneer)
Original release
Network PBS
ReleaseNovember 15, 1985 (1985-11-15)

The Last Romantic is a documentary filmed within the home of concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz. The film contains mainly performances of classical works, but also provides an intimate look into Horowitz's private life.

Contents

Description

The Last Romantic is a documentary filmed at Vladimir Horowitz's townhouse on the Upper East Side of New York. 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, Frédéric Chopin, and Alexander Scriabin. Horowitz's wife, Wanda, also contributes her share to the discussions; she shows photo albums and reminisces about their past. [3]

Performances

These are the pieces performed in the film (In order of performance):

  1. Chorale Prelude BWV659 Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland (Bach arr. Busoni)
  2. Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major, K330 (Mozart)
  3. Impromptu in A-flat major, D899 No. 4 (Schubert)
  4. Mazurka No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4 (Chopin)
  5. Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20 (Chopin)
  6. Consolation, S. 172 No. 3 in D flat major (Liszt)
  7. Prelude Op. 32 No. 12 in G-sharp minor (Rachmaninoff)
  8. Novelette in F major, Op. 21 No. 1 (Schumann)
  9. Étude Op. 2 No. 1 in C-sharp minor (Scriabin)
  10. Polonaise No. 6 in A-flat major, Op. 53 'Héroïque' (Chopin)

Outtakes

Three additional performances were released as a bonus DVD from the 2003 release Horowitz Live and Unedited. [4] [5]

  1. Etude in G-flat major, Op. 10 No. 5 (Chopin)
  2. Etude in F major, Op. 72 No. 6 (Moszkowski)
  3. Au bord d'une source (Liszt)

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References