Pianist, born in Kiev, Ukraine. He studied in Kiev, made his concert debut when he was 17, and toured widely before settling in the USA and becoming a US citizen. There were long periods of retirement from concert life, but in 1986 he played again in Russia.
Vladimir Samoylovych Horowitz (Ukrainian: Володимир Самійлович Горовиць, Russian: Владимир Самойлович Горовиц) October 1, 1903 – November 5, 1989) was an American classical pianist of Ukranian birth. Detractors claim that his performance style is overly mannered (termed Horowitzian), and often too much so to be true to the composer's intentions.
Life and early career
Horowitz himself said that he was born in Kiev, Ukraine (then part of Russian Empire), but some sources have given Berdichev (Ukraine) as a birthplace. Horowitz's wife, Wanda Toscanini, however, gave credence to the Berdichev possibility. 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 reference sources, but authoritative sources now list - and Horowitz himself confirmed - his correct year of birth as 1903). Horowitz had piano lessons from an early age, initially from his mother, who was herself a competent pianist. In 1926 Horowitz made his first appearance outside his home country, in Berlin.
Career in the US
In 1932 he played for the first time with the conductor Arturo Toscanini in a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. In 1933, in a civil ceremony, Horowitz married Wanda Toscanini, the conductor's daughter. Their different religious background (Wanda was Catholic, while Horowitz was a Jew) was not an issue, since 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 (1934-75).
Despite receiving rapturous receptions at his recitals, Horowitz became increasingly unsure of his abilities as a pianist. Several times he withdrew from public performances (1936-1938, 1953-1965, 1969-1974, 1983-1985), and it is said that on several occasions, Horowitz had to be pushed onto the stage (Plaskin 353).
Horowitz made many recordings, starting in 1928 upon his arrival in the United States. Because of the economic impact of the Great Depression RCA Victor agreed to allow Horowitz to record for HMV in London in lieu of the discs it was contracted to publish itself. Horowitz's first European recording was his 1930 recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. Through 1936 Horowitz made many more recordings of solo piano repertoire for HMV in London, including his famous 1932 account of Liszt's Sonata in B minor. From 1940 to 1959, Horowitz recorded for RCA Victor. In 1953, when Horowitz went into retirement, he made a number of acclaimed recordings at home, including discs of Alexander Scriabin and Muzio Clementi.
In 1962, Horowitz began recording for Columbia Records, and it is these recordings which are among the most highly regarded. Horowitz also continued to make studio recordings, including a 1969 recording of Schumann's Kreisleriana which was awarded the Prix Mondial du Disque.
In 1975, Horowitz returned to RCA Victor, and made a series of live recordings until 1982.
Personal Life
Despite his marriage, there is considerable independent evidence that Horowitz was gay or at the least male-inclined.
He is credited with the ambiguous aphorism: "There are three kinds of pianists: Jewish pianists, homosexual pianists, and bad pianists."
The last years
After another brief retirement from 1983 until 1985 (he was playing under the influence of prescribed anti-depressant medication and as a result, memory lapses and loss of physical control occurred during his tour of America and Japan), Horowitz returned to recording and occasional concertizing. Horowitz was signed to Deutsche Grammophon in 1985, and made both studio and live recordings until 1989.
In 1986, Horowitz returned to the Soviet Union to give a series of concerts in Moscow and Leningrad.
Horowitz's final recording, for the Sony Classical label, was completed four days before his death.
Vladimir Horowitz died in New York of a heart attack.
Repertoire and technique
Horowitz is best known for his performances of the Romantic piano repertoire. His first recording of Liszt's Sonata (1932) is still considered by some piano afficionados as the definitive reading of that piece, after almost 75 years and almost 100 performances committed to disc by other pianists. Towards the end of the Friska section of the latter, Horowitz gives the illusion of playing with three hands as he combines all the themes of the piece. Horowitz's other transcriptions of note include Variations on a Theme from Bizet's Carmen and Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever.
Horowitz's extravagances were always well received by concert audiences, but not by some critics (Virgil Thomson was famous for his consistent criticism of Horowitz as a "master of distortion and exaggeration" in his reviews in the New York Herald Tribune). The style of Horowitz frequently involved vast dynamic contrasts, with overwhelming double-fortissimos followed by sudden delicate pianissimos. Horowitz's unusual hand-position meant that he played with straight fingers, and the little finger of his right hand was always curled tight until it needed to play a note; Rachmaninoff once commented upon it, saying that Horowitz plays contrary to how they had been taught, yet somehow with Horowitz it works.
For all the aural excitement of his playing, Horowitz seldom engaged in bodily or facial histrionics on the stage.
Awards and Recognitions
Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance - Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (with or without orchestra):
Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz in Concert (Haydn, Schumann, Scriabin, Debussy, Mozart, Chopin) (1968) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz on Television (Chopin, Scriabin, Scarlatti, Horowitz) (1969) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz — The Studio Recordings, New York 1985 (1987)Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra):
Carlo Maria Giulini (conductor), Vladimir Horowitz & 23 (1989) Eugene Ormandy (conductor), Vladimir Horowitz & 3 in D Minor for Piano (Horowitz Golden Jubilee) (1979)Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra):
Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff (Etudes-Tableaux Piano Music; Sonatas) (1972) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz Plays Chopin (1973) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz Plays Scriabin (1974) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz Concerts 1975/76 (1977) Vladimir Horowitz for The Horowitz Concerts 1977/78 (1979) Vladimir Horowitz for The Horowitz Concerts 1978/79 (1980) Vladimir Horowitz for The Horowitz Concerts 1979/80 (1982) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz in Moscow (1988) Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz — Discovered Treasures (Chopin, Liszt, Scarlatti, Scriabin, Clementi) (1993) Vladimir Horowitz for The Last Recording' (1991)Grammy Award for Best Classical Album:
Vladimir Horowitz for Columbia Records Presents Vladimir Horowitz Thomas Frost (producer) & Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz at Carnegie Hall — An Historic Return (1966) Thomas Frost, Richard Killough (producers) & Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff (Etudes-Tableaux Piano Music; Sonatas) (1972) Thomas Frost (producer), Leonard Bernstein (conductor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Vladimir Horowitz, Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern, Lyndon Woodside & Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz in Moscow (1988) Thomas Frost (producer) & Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz — The Studio Recordings, New York 1985 (1987)Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1990
Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Classical:
Fred Plaut (engineer) & Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz at Carnegie Hall — An Historic Return (1966) Paul Goodman (engineer) & Vladimir Horowitz for Horowitz — The Studio Recordings, New York 1985 (1987)
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