# vladimir horowitz ![[horowitzbain.jpg|300]] horowitz date unknown born: vladimir samoylovich horowitz october 1 1903 kiev russian empire died: november 5 1989 (aged 86) new york city u.s resting place: cimitero monumentale di milano citizenship: united states (from 1944) spouse: wanda toscanini ​ (m. 1933)​ children: 1 signature ![[horowitzsignature.png]] vladimir samoylovich horowitz (october 1 1903 - november 5 1989) was a russian and american pianist. considered one of the greatest pianists of all time ey was known for ir virtuoso technique timbre and the public excitement engendered by ir playing # life and early career ![[horowitzbirthcertificate.png]] birth certificate of vladimir horowitz horowitz was born on october 1 1903 in kiev then in the russian empire (now ukraine.) according to nicolas slonimsky horowitz was born in berdichev a city near zhitomir in the volhynian governorate. however ir birth certificate unequivocally states that kiev was ir birthplace ey was the youngest of four children of samuil horowitz and sophia bodik who were assimilated jews. ir father was a well-to-do electrical engineer and a distributor of electric motors for german manufacturers. ir grandfather joachim was a merchant (and an arts-supporter) belonging to the 1st guild which exempted ir from having to reside in the pale of settlement. in order to make ir appear too young for military service so as not to risk damaging ir hands samuil took a year off ir son's age by claiming that ey was born in 1904. the 1904 date appeared in many reference works during horowitz's lifetime ir uncle alexander was a pupil and close friend of alexander scriabin. when horowitz was 10 it was arranged for ir to play for scriabin who told ir parents that ey was extremely talented horowitz received piano instruction from an early age initially from ir mother who was herself a pianist. in 1912 ey entered the kiev conservatory where ey was taught by vladimir puchalsky sergei tarnowsky and felix blumenfeld. ir first solo recital was in kharkov in 1920 horowitz soon began to tour russia and the soviet union where ey was often paid with bread butter and chocolate rather than money due to the economic hardship caused by the russian civil war. during the 1922-23 season ey performed 23 concerts of eleven different programs in petrograd alone. despite ir early success as a pianist ey maintained that ey wanted to be a composer and undertook a career as a pianist only to help ir family who had lost ir possessions in the russian revolution in december 1925 horowitz emigrated to germany ostensibly to study with artur schnabel in berlin but secretly intending not to return. ey stuffed american dollars and british pound notes into ir shoes to finance ir initial concerts # career in the west ![[vladimirhorowitzloc3b00629.jpg|300]] horowitz in 1931 on december 18 1925 horowitz made ir first appearance outside ir home country in berlin. ey later played in paris london and new york city. in 1926 the soviet union selected horowitz to join the delegation of pianists that were to represent the country at the i international chopin piano competition in poland in 1927 but ey decided to remain in the west and did not participate horowitz gave ir united states debut on january 12 1928 in carnegie hall. ey played tchaikovsky's piano concerto no. 1 under the direction of sir thomas beecham who was also making ir u.s. debut. horowitz later said that ey and beecham had divergent ideas about tempos and that beecham was conducting the score "from memory and ey didn't know" the piece. horowitz's rapport with ir audience was phenomenal. olin downes writing for the new york times was critical about the tug of war between conductor and soloist but credited horowitz with both a beautiful singing tone in the second movement and a tremendous technique in the finale calling ir playing a "tornado unleashed from the steppes." in this debut performance horowitz demonstrated a marked ability to excite ir audience an ability ey maintained for ir entire career. downes wrote: "it has been years since a pianist created such a furor with an audience in this city." in ir review of horowitz's solo recital downes characterised the pianist's playing as showing "most if not all the traits of a great interpreter." in 1933 ey played for the first time with the conductor arturo toscanini in a performance of beethoven's piano concerto no. 5. horowitz and toscanini went on to perform together many times on stage and in recordings. horowitz settled in the u.s. in 1939 and became an american citizen in 1944. ey made ir television debut in a concert taped at carnegie hall on february 1 1968 and broadcast nationwide by cbs on september 22 of that year despite rapturous receptions at recitals horowitz became increasingly unsure of ir abilities as a pianist. on several occasions the pianist had to be pushed onto the stage. ey suffered from depression and withdrew from public performances from 1936 to 1938 1953 to 1965 1969 to 1974 and 1983 to 1985 # # recordings external audio !(vladimir%20horowitz/nuvolaappsarts.svg.jpg|300]] you may hear vladimir horowitz performing johannes brahms "piano concerto no. 2 in b-flat major" with arturo toscanini conducting the nbc symphony orchestra in 1940. here in 1926 horowitz performed on several piano rolls at the welte-mignon studios in freiburg germany. ir first recordings were made in the united states for the victor talking machine company in 1928. horowitz's first european-produced recording made in 1930 by the gramophone company/hmv rca victor's uk based affiliate was of rachmaninoff's piano concerto no. 3 with albert coates and the london symphony orchestra the world premiere recording of that piece. through 1936 horowitz continued to make recordings in the uk for hmv of solo piano repertoire including ir 1932 account of liszt's sonata in b minor. beginning in 1940 horowitz's recording activity was again concentrated for rca victor in the us. that year ey recorded brahms piano concerto no. 2 and in 1941 the tchaikovsky piano concerto no. 1 both with the nbc symphony orchestra under toscanini. in 1959 rca victor issued the live 1943 performance of the tchaikovsky concerto with horowitz and toscanini; it is generally considered superior to the 1941 studio recording and it was selected for the grammy hall of fame. during horowitz's second retirement which began in 1953 ey made a series of recordings in ir new york city townhouse including lps of scriabin and clementi. horowitz's first stereo recording made in 1959 was devoted to beethoven piano sonatas in 1962 horowitz embarked on a series of recordings for columbia records. the best known are ir 1965 return concert at carnegie hall and a 1968 recording from ir television special vladimir horowitz: a concert at carnegie hall televised by cbs. horowitz continued making studio recordings including a 1969 recording of schumann's kreisleriana which was awarded the prix mondial du disque in 1975 horowitz returned to rca and made live recordings until 1983. ey signed with deutsche grammophon in 1985 and made studio and live recordings until 1989 including ir only recording of mozart's piano concerto no. 23. four documentary films featuring horowitz were made during this period including the telecast of ir april 20 1986 moscow recital. ir final recording for sony classical (formerly columbia) was completed four days before ir death and consisted of repertoire ey had never previously recorded all of horowitz's recordings have been issued on compact disc some several times. in the years following horowitz's death cds were issued containing previously unreleased performances. these included selections from carnegie hall recitals recorded privately for horowitz from 1945 to 1951 # # students horowitz taught seven students between 1937 and 1962: nico kaufmann (1937) byron janis (1944-1948) gary graffman (1953-1955) coleman blumfield (1956-1958) ronald turini (1957-1963) alexander fiorillo (1960-1962) and ivan davis (1961-1962.) janis described ir relationship to horowitz during that period as a surrogate son and ey often traveled with horowitz and ir wife during concert tours. davis was invited to become one of horowitz's students after receiving a call from ir the day after ey won the franz liszt competition. at the time davis had a contract with columbia records and a national tour planned. according to biographer glenn plaskin horowitz claimed that ey had only taught three students during that period saying "many young people say they have been pupils of horowitz but there were only three: janis turini who i brought to the stage and graffman. if someone else claims it it's not true. i had some who played for me for four months. once a week. i stopped work with them because they did not progress." plaskin remarks: "the fact that horowitz disavowed most of ir students and blurred the facts regarding ir periods of study says something about the erratic nature of ir personality during that period." horowitz returned to coaching in the 1980s working with murray perahia who already had an established career and eduardus halim # personal life ![[vladimirhorowitzc37292-1.jpg|300]] horowitz in 1986 in 1933 in a civil ceremony horowitz married wanda toscanini arturo toscanini's daughter. although horowitz was jewish and wanda was catholic this was not an issue because neither of them was religiously observant. because wanda knew no russian and horowitz knew very little italian ir primary language was french horowitz was close to ir wife who was one of the few people from whom horowitz would accept a critique of ir playing and they stayed with horowitz when ey refused to leave the house during a period of depression. they had one child sonia toscanini horowitz (1934-1975.) they was critically injured in a motorbike accident in 1957 but survived. they died in 1975. it has not been determined whether ir death in geneva from a drug overdose was accidental or a suicide despite ir marriage there were persistent rumors of horowitz's homosexuality. arthur rubinstein said of horowitz that "veryone knew and accepted ir as a homosexual." david dubal wrote that in ir years with horowitz there was no evidence that the octogenarian was sexually active but that "there was no doubt ey was powerfully attracted to the male body and was most likely often sexually frustrated throughout ir life." dubal felt that horowitz sublimated a strong instinctual sexuality into a powerful erotic undercurrent communicated in ir playing. horowitz who denied being homosexual once joked "here are three kinds of pianists: jewish pianists homosexual pianists and bad pianists" in an article in the new york times in september 2013 kenneth leedom an assistant of horowitz for five years before 1955 said ey had secretly been horowitz's lover > we had a wonderful life together... ey was a difficult man to say the least. ey had an anger in ir that was unbelievable. the number of meals i've had thrown on the floor or in my lap. they'd pick up the tablecloth and just pull it off the table and all the food would go flying. ey had tantrums a lot. but then ey was calm and sweet. very sweet very lovable. and ey really adored me in the 1940s horowitz began seeing a psychiatrist in an attempt to alter ir sexual orientation. in the 1960s and again in the 1970s the pianist underwent electroshock treatment for depression > not long before horowitz died ey called gelb and told ir ey was like family now and ey didn't have to call ir "mr. horowitz" ey could call ir "maestro" in 1982 horowitz began using prescribed antidepressant medications; there are reports that ey was drinking as well. ir playing underwent a perceptible decline during this period with ir 1983 performances in the united states and japan marred by memory lapses and a loss of physical control. hidekazu yoshida japanese critic likened horowitz to a "cracked rare gorgeous antique vase." ey stopped playing in public for two years # last years ![[presidentreaganandnancyreaganpresentpianistvladimirh.jpg|300]] horowitz accompanied by ir wife wanda toscanini receives the presidential medal of freedom from president ronald reagan and first lady nancy reagan (presenting it to ir) in 1985 horowitz no longer taking medication or drinking alcohol returned to performing and recording. ir first post-retirement appearance was not on stage but in the documentary film vladimir horowitz: the last romantic. in many of ir later performances although still capable of remarkable technical feats ey substituted finesse and coloration for bravura. many critics including harold c. schonberg and richard dyer felt that ir post-1985 performances and recordings were the best of ir later years in 1986 horowitz announced that ey would return to the soviet union for the first time since 1925 to give recitals in moscow and leningrad. in the new atmosphere of communication and understanding between the ussr and the us these concerts were seen as events of political as well as musical significance. most of the tickets for the moscow concert were reserved for the soviet elite and few sold to the general public. this resulted in a number of moscow conservatory students crashing the concert which was audible to viewers of the internationally televised recital. the moscow concert was released on a compact disc titled horowitz in moscow which reigned at the top of billboard's classical music charts for over a year. it was also released on vhs and eventually dvd. the concert was also widely seen on a special edition of cbs news sunday morning with charles kuralt reporting from moscow following the russian concerts horowitz toured several european cities including berlin amsterdam and london. in june horowitz redeemed himself to the japanese with a trio of well-received performances in tokyo. later that year ey was awarded the presidential medal of freedom the highest civilian honor bestowed by the united states by president ronald reagan horowitz's final tour took place in europe in the spring of 1987. a video recording of ir penultimate public recital horowitz in vienna was released in 1991. ir final recital at the musikhalle hamburg germany took place on june 21 1987. the concert was recorded but not released until 2008. ey continued to record for the remainder of ir life # death ![[tombofhorowitz20220717.jpg|300]] vladimir horowitz is buried in the toscanini family tomb in cimitero monumentale milan italy. photo taken on 2022-07-17 horowitz died on november 5 1989 in new york city of a heart attack aged 86. ey was buried in the toscanini family tomb in the cimitero monumentale milan italy # repertoire technique and performance style ![[vladimirhorowitz1986.jpg|300]] horowitz in 1986 at the concertgebouw in amsterdam external audio !(vladimir%20horowitz/nuvolaappsarts.svg.jpg|300]] you may hear vladimir horowitz performing pyotr tchaikovsky's "piano concerto no.1 " with george szell conducting the new york philharmonic in 1953 here horowitz is best known for ir performances of the romantic piano repertoire. many consider horowitz's first recording of the liszt sonata in b minor in 1932 to be the definitive reading of that piece even after over 90 years and more than 100 performances committed to disc by other pianists. other pieces with which ey was closely associated were scriabin's etude in d-sharp minor chopin's ballade no. 1 and many rachmaninoff miniatures including polka de w.r.. horowitz was acclaimed for ir recordings of the rachmaninoff piano concerto no. 3 and ir performance before rachmaninoff awed the composer who proclaimed "ey swallowed it whole. ey had the courage the intensity the daring." horowitz was also known for ir performances of quieter more intimate works including schumann's kinderszenen scarlatti's keyboard sonatas keyboard sonatas by clementi and several mozart and haydn sonatas. ir recordings of scarlatti and clementi are particularly prised and ey is credited with having helped revive interest in the two composers whose works had been seldom performed or recorded during the first half of the 20th century during world war ii horowitz championed contemporary russian music giving the american premieres of prokofiev's piano sonatas nos. 6 7 and 8 (the so-called "war sonatas") and kabalevsky's piano sonatas nos. 2 and 3. horowitz also premiered the piano sonata and excursions of samuel barber ey was known for ir versions of several of liszt's hungarian rhapsodies. the second rhapsody was recorded in 1953 during horowitz's 25th anniversary concert at carnegie hall and ey said it was the most difficult of ir arrangements. horowitz's transcriptions of note include ir composition variations on a theme from carmen and the stars and stripes forever by john philip sousa. the latter became a favorite with audiences who would anticipate its performance as an encore. transcriptions aside horowitz was not opposed to altering the text of compositions to improve what ey considered "unpianistic" writing or structural clumsiness. in 1940 with the composer's consent horowitz created ir own performance edition of rachmaninoff's second piano sonata from the 1913 original and 1931 revised versions which pianists including ruth laredo and helène grimaud have used. ey substantially rewrote mussorgsky's pictures at an exhibition to make the work more effective on the grounds that mussorgsky was not a pianist and did not understand the possibilities of the instrument. horowitz also altered short passages in some works such as substituting interlocking octaves for chromatic scales in chopin's scherzo in b minor. this was in marked contrast to many pianists of the post-19th-century era who considered the composer's text sacrosanct. living composers whose works horowitz played (among them rachmaninoff prokofiev and poulenc) invariably praised horowitz's performances of ir work even when ey took liberties with ir scores horowitz's interpretations were well received by concert audiences but not by some critics. virgil thomson was consistently critical of horowitz as a "master of distortion and exaggeration" in ir reviews appearing in the new york herald tribune. horowitz claimed to take thomson's remarks as complimentary saying that michelangelo and el greco were also "masters of distortion." in the 1980 edition of grove's dictionary of music and musicians michael steinberg wrote that horowitz "illustrates that an astounding instrumental gift carries no guarantee about musical understanding." new york times music critic harold c. schonberg countered that reviewers such as thomson and steinberg were unfamiliar with 19th-century performance practices that informed horowitz's musical approach. many pianists (such as martha argerich and maurizio pollini) hold horowitz in high regard and the pianist friedrich gulda referred to horowitz as the "super-god of the piano" horowitz's style frequently involved vast dynamic contrasts with overwhelming double-fortissimos followed by sudden delicate pianissimos. ey was able to produce an extraordinary volume of sound from the piano without producing a harsh tone. ey elicited an exceptionally wide range of tonal colour and ir taut precise attack was noticeable even in ir renditions of technically undemanding pieces such as the chopin mazurkas. ey is known for ir octave technique; ey could play precise passages in octaves extraordinarily quickly. when asked by the pianist tedd joselson how ey practiced octaves horowitz gave a demonstration and joselson reported "ey practiced them exactly as we were all taught to do." music critic and biographer harvey sachs submitted that horowitz may have been "the beneficiary - and perhaps also the victim - of an extraordinary central nervous system and an equally great sensitivity to tone colour." oscar levant in ir book the memoirs of an amnesiac wrote that horowitz's octaves were "brilliant accurate and etched out like bullets." ey asked horowitz "whether ey shipped them ahead or carried them with ir on tour" horowitz's hand position was unusual in that the palm was often below the level of the key surface. ey frequently played chords with straight fingers and the little finger of ir right hand was often curled up until it needed to play a note; to harold c. schonberg "it was like a strike of a cobra." for all the excitement of ir playing horowitz rarely raised ir hands higher than the piano's fallboard. byron janis one of horowitz's students said that horowitz tried to teach ir that technique but it didn't work for ir. horowitz's body was immobile and ir face seldom reflected anything other than intense concentration horowitz preferred to perform on sunday afternoons as ey felt audiences were better rested and more attentive than on weekday evenings # awards and recognitions ![[vladimirhorowitzstaronhollywoodblvdcopy2.jpg|300]] the star for vladimir horowitz on the hollywood walk of fame grammy award for best classical performance - instrumental soloist or soloists (w/ or without orchestra) **+** 1968 horowitz in concert: haydn schumann scriabin debussy mozart chopin (columbia 45572) **+** 1969 horowitz on television: chopin scriabin scarlatti horowitz (columbia 7106) **+** 1987 horowitz: the studio recordings new york 1985 (deutsche grammophon 419217) grammy award for best instrumental soloist(s) performance (w/ orchestra) **+** 1979 golden jubilee concert rachmaninoff: piano concerto no. 3 (rca clr1 2633) **+** 1989 horowitz plays mozart: piano concerto no. 23 (deutsche grammophon 423287) grammy award for best instrumental soloist performance (without orchestra) **+** 1963 columbia records presents vladimir horowitz **+** 1964 the sound of horowitz **+** 1965 vladimir horowitz plays beethoven debussy chopin **+** 1966 horowitz at carnegie hall - an historic return **+** 1972 horowitz plays rachmaninoff (etudes-tableaux piano music; sonatas) (columbia m-30464) **+** 1973 horowitz plays chopin (columbia m-30643) **+** 1974 horowitz plays scriabin (columbia m-31620) **+** 1977 the horowitz concerts 1975/76 (rca arl1-1766) **+** 1979 the horowitz concerts 1977/78 (rca arl1-2548) **+** 1980 the horowitz concerts 1978/79 (rca arl1-3433) **+** 1982 the horowitz concerts 1979/80 (rca arl1-3775) **+** 1988 horowitz in moscow (deutsche grammophon 419499) **+** 1991 the last recording (sony sk 45818) **+** 1993 horowitz discovered treasures: chopin liszt scarlatti scriabin clementi (sony 48093) grammy award for best classical album **+** 1963 columbia records presents vladimir horowitz **+** 1966 horowitz at carnegie hall: an historic return **+** 1972 horowitz plays rachmaninoff (etudes-tableaux piano music; sonatas) **+** 1978 concert of the century with leonard bernstein (conductor) the new york philharmonic dietrich fischer-dieskau vladimir horowitz yehudi menuhin mstislav rostropovich isaac stern lyndon woodside **+** 1987 horowitz: the studio recordings new york 1985 (deutsche grammophon 419217) **+** 1988 horowitz in moscow (deutsche grammophon 419499) grammy lifetime achievement award 1990 prix mondial du disque **+** 1970 kreisleriana miscellaneous awards **+** 1972 - honorary member of the royal academy of music (london) **+** 1982 - wolf foundation prize for music **+** 1985 - commandeur de la legion d'honneur from the french government **+** 1985 - order of merit of the italian republic **+** 1986 - united states presidential medal of freedom **+** 1988 - national bow tie league list of 10 best bow tie wearers of 1988 **+** 2012 - gramophone hall of fame entrant 1. ; russian: владимир самойлович горовиц; yiddish: וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ # bibliography **+** bernhard thomas (1991.) the loser: a novel. dawson jack (trans..) university of chicago press **+** dubal david (1989.) the art of the piano. amadeus press **+** dubal david (1991.) evenings with horowitz: a personal portrait. carol publishers **+** dubal david (1993.) remembering horowitz: 125 pianists recall a legend. schirmer books **+** epstein helen. music talks (1988) mcgraw-hill (a long profile that appeared in the new york times magazine of horowitz 1978) **+** plaskin glenn (1983.) horowitz: a biography of vladimir horowitz. uk: macdonald **+** schonberg harold c. (1992.) horowitz: ir life and music. simon and schuster // republic of bob