Last week I heard a quite mediocre performance of the Rach 3. For the pianist's sake it should be stated that the guy was 19 years old, the winner of the prestigious Rubinstein competition (named after the great pianist) that takes place in Israel every two years, bringing young pianists from all over the globe. Igor Tcheutuyev is the equievelent of the minor characters in the old testemant: his presence is in order to emphasize the main character himself by of comparison- Vladimir Horowitz. Technically the kid is quite impressive but does not reach the hight of velocity and articulation that Horowitz does in very specifically important passages in this masterpiece. He doesn't suceed in filling the task of playing the extremely difficult task of playing pianissimo but still hearing clearly the notes and the polyphony. This is a field that Horowitz mastered. He played quitely yet very clear. You will never miss the details in his brilliant playing. Concerto in Italian means race and there is some truth in music, especially Rachmaninof. The melodies are developed by conflict between the orchestra and piano. This for sure appears in the first movement. Horowitz uses much rubato and gradually increases the tempo and the dynamics. This is a crowd-capturing attribute. I felt that Igor's cadenza did not meet the hieghts, the Olympus the outright pathos that Horowitz reaches. The vituosity in Horowitz's third movement is bewildering. Igor had a tough time tackling some of the hard passages. Horowitz captures the long, broad and typical Russian melodies. The biggest advantage of Horowitz over any other pianist is his imagination. This definitely is his trademark. When you here a Horowiz playing you can easily identify it from other pianists. If it his rubato and touch and pedal work in Mozart. if it his sole interpretation in Russuan music. He has a tendency to emphasize inner voices and details which wouldn't have been paid attention to by other pianists. He has his own sound and a large pallot of colours which is g-dly.Technique is not even a problem for him and he is a mater of this field. Gal Shalev <[log in to unmask]>