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Moszkowski

Shortly after I wrote my last post, in which I vehemently repudiated the theory that Moszkowski was the original author of the de Schlozer etudes, I sought to explore the much-neglected Moszkowski some more. To quickly put to rest the connection with the last post that I raised, I will mention that I am now of the opinion that it isn't entirely improbable that Moszkowski could have written the de Schlozer etudes early in his career. Just as Chopin attempted to burn many of his early compositions, so Moszkowski might have been loath to publish these etudes. This is ultimately a futile exercise, because there is no way to know one way or another, unless there exist some heretofore undiscovered historical document linking Moszkowski unmistakably to the de Schlozer etudes. In any case, Moszkowski's value as a composer does not depend on the de Schlozer etudes. He has written plenty of masterpieces which have elevated him to the level of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt in the pantheon of classical music, even if history has not given him the recognition he deserves. Of his enormous output, only a handful of pieces have been recorded, and of the pieces that have, only a handful of artists have recorded them. But even among the small fraction of Moszkowski's musical oeuvre that the public readily has access to, one can find masterpieces like the E Major Piano Concerto, Op. 59, which without a shadow of a doubt ranks among the finest Romantic concerti ever written. This sprawling masterpiece is characterized by lush melodies, blazing virtuosity, and loftiness of conception. In it one finds a different Moszkowski from the one that the public is used to. This is not the miniaturist composer of flashy encore pieces, a sort of footnote in a program featuring Chopin or Brahms or Liszt, but the star of the show. The climaxes rival Rachmaninoff, the virtuosity rivals Liszt, and the melodies rivals Chopin; but Moszkowski is not Rachmaninoff, Chopin, or Liszt - or even Schumann or Mozart, whose music legacy he continues. Moszkowski is Moszkowski.

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