User Reviews

Seeing no one has reviewed this title yet and moderate ratings have been given, I decided to give my own take. This documentary covers the historic performance that Vladimir Horowitz gave in Moscow in 1986. This performance has been documented in both footage shown throughout this documentary and on DG's album Horowitz in Moscow. The footage truly shows a master in his later years who still exhibits his virtuosity. I also watched the previous "Magic" documentary on PBS regarding Maria Callas. In comparison, Horowitz does bring together voices that can attest to his ability, but I feel it does not capture much of the background or planning behind the performance as the Callas documentary did. We learn little about Horowitz himself, apart from the importance of this recital. I would have greatly appreciated the documentary covering his Russian upbringing or his emigration to the United States, his musical call to fame, or more about his visit to the Soviet Union. It shows Horowitz as a great musician but does not tell us how. Personally, I feel the worst aspect of the documentary is Peter Gelb. He is may be insightful, being Horowitz's manager at the time and having his own words about the performance, but his appearance is tainted by his recent legacy. For the past year, he has soiled his reputation as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera by refusing to pay his talented employees and trying to use the pandemic to cheat their unions in his favor. Seeing him in the documentary made me feel uncomfortable and glad that I donated to the Met Musicians. Personally, I felt it did a great job at documenting Horowitz's performance but it provides little to attest to how Horowitz became a great musician and what led him to this high point.