VLADIMIR HOROWITZ (OCTOBER 1, 1903 –
KIEV, UKRAINE – NOVEMBER 5, 1989 – NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA)
In his prime,
he was considered one of the most brilliant pianists of his time. His use of
tone color, technique and the excitement of his playing are thought by many to
be unrivaled, and his performances of works as diverse as those of Domenico
Scarlatti and Alexander Scriabin were equally legendary. Though sometimes
criticized for being overly mannered, he has a huge and passionate following
and is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. He
was born in 1903, but in order to make Vladimir appear too young for military
service so as not to risk damaging his hands, his father took a year off his
son’s age by claiming he was born in 1904. This fictitious birth year is still
found in some references, but authoritative sources—including Horowitz himself
– confirm the correct year as 1903. Horowitz received piano instruction from an
early age, initially from his mother, who was herself a competent pianist. In
1912 he entered the Kiev Conservatory, where he was taught by Vladimir
Puchalsky, Sergei Tarnowsky, and Felix Blumenfeld. He left the conservatory in
1919 and performed the S. Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor at his graduation.
He was later to become particularly associated with this concerto, and in 1930
made the premiere recording. His first solo recital followed in 1920. His star
rose rapidly, and he soon began to tour Russia where he was often paid with
bread, butter and chocolate rather than money, due to the country’s economic
hardships.During the 1922-1923 season, he performed 23 concerts of eleven
different programs in Leningrad alone. On January 2, 1926, Horowitz made his
first appearance outside his home country, in Berlin. He later played in Paris,
London and New York City, and it was in the USA that he eventually settled in
1940. He became a USA citizen in 1944. Vladimir Horowitz gave his USA debut on
January 12, 1928, in Carnegie Hall. He played the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto
No. 1 b-flat minor, op. 23, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under the
direction of Sir Thomas Beecham who made his USA debut as well. Horowitz’s
success with the audience was phenomenal, and a solo recital was quickly
scheduled. With these performances, Horowitz’s USA career was sensationally
launched, and he has never since relinquished his place among the greatest
pianists of all time. In 1932, he played for the first time with the conductor
Arturo Toscanini in a performance of the L.v. Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5,
Emperor. Horowitz and Arturo Toscanini went on to perform together many times,
on stage and in recordings. Despite rapturous receptions at recitals, Horowitz
became increasingly unsure of his abilities as a pianist. Several times, he
withdrew from public performances during 1936 to 1938, 1953 to 1965, 1969 to
1974, and 1983 to 1985. On several occasions, Horowitz had to be pushed onto
the stage. After 1965 he gave solo recitals only rarely. Beginning in 1944,
Vladimir Horowitz began working with a select group of young pianists. First
among these was Byron Janis, who studied with Horowitz until 1948. During his
second retirement he worked with more pianists, including Gary Graffman
(1953-1955), Coleman Blumfield (1956-1958), Roland Turini (1957-1963),
Alexander Fiorillo (1950-1962) and Ivan Davis (1961-1962). Horowitz returned to
coaching in the 1980s, working with Murray Perahia, who already had an
established career, and Eduardus Halim. In 1933, in a civil ceremony, Vladimir
Horowitz married Arturo Toscanini’s daughter Wanda. Their different religious
backgrounds – Wanda was Catholic, Horowitz Jewish – was not an issue, as
neither was observant. As Wanda knew no Russian and Horowitz knew very little
Italian, their primary language became French. They had one child, Sonia
Toscanini Horowitz (1934-1975). Despite his marriage, there is considerable
independant evidence that Horowitz was gay or at the least inclined towards
males. Horowitz underwent psychological treatment in the 1950s in an attempt to
alter his sexual orientation. In the early 1960’s and again in the early
1970’s, he underwent electroshock therapy for depression. In 1982, Vladimir
Horowitz began using prescribed anti-depressant medications, and his playing
underwent a perceptible decline. The pianist’s 1983 performances in the USA and
Japan were marred by memory lapses and a loss of physical control. By 1985,
Horowitz, no longer taking medication, returned to concertizing and recording
and was back on form. In many of his later performances, the octogenarian
pianist substituted finesse and coloration for bravura, although he was still
capable of remarkable technical feats. In 1986, Horowitz returned to the Soviet
Union to give a series of concerts in Moscow and Leningrad. In the new
atmosphere of communication and understanding between the USSR and the USA,
these concerts were seen as events of some political, as well as musical,
significance. The Moscow concert, which was internationally televised, was released
on a compact disc entitled Horowitz in Moscow, which reigned at the top of
Billboard’s Classical music charts for over a year. His final tour was to
Europe in the spring of 1987 with a video recording of one of his last public
recitals, Horowitz in Vienna released in 1991. He continued to record for the
remainder of his life. Vladimir Horowitz died on November 5, 1989 in New York
of a heart attack. He was buried in the Toscanini family tomb in Cimitero
Monumentale, Milan, Italy.
TRACKLIST
7250
BIZET-HOROWITZ – Variations on Seguidillas from Opera “Carmen”
7281
TCHAIKOVSKY – Doumka (Scene in a Russian Village) Op. 59
7282
SCHUBERT-LISZT – Liebesbotschaft (Love’s Message)
7287 CHOPIN –
Etudes, Op. 10, No. 6, b-b; Op. 25, No. 12, c “Arpeggios”
7360 HOROWITZ
– Valse, e
7447
SAINT-SAENS-LISZT-HOROWITZ – Danse macabre, Op. 40
7450
RACHMANINOFF – Preludes, Op. 32, Nos. 8, a; 10, b
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