Pianist Horowitz

This recording remains the standard even now.

Horowitz plays some sonatas by Scarlatti, Haydn, works by Chopin, Brahms just marvelously. I like his Mozart very much, although many will disagree with me.

He is, in my opinion, the most charismatic and charming pianist of the 20th century.

This wonderful pianist was born, by the way, in Kiev. At the age of 17 he had already graduated from the Conservatory.

From the age of 25 he lived in the USA. Vladimir Horowitz's relations with the Soviet authorities did not work out, to put it mildly.

He lived his whole life (from the age of 25) in the USA! And in his old age (he was 83 years old!) he gave several concerts in Russia, which created a real sensation.

You can find the famous concert in Moscow in youtube. 83-year-old Horowitz's fingers run faster than those of many young virtuoso pianists. Let's not talk about the sound. According to eyewitnesses, the way Horowitz's piano sounded, it did not sound like anyone else's.

At the age of 30 Vladimir married Wanda Toscanini, the daughter of the famous conductor. This may have been the decisive moment in his career. But this in no way diminishes his musical talents.

Horowitz's sense of humor was also fine:
"To make your way in our profession, you have to be either Jewish or gay. So I'm both, I'm a genius!"

What can I say?)

He paid great attention to pianistic technique. According to some of Horowitz's contemporaries, he could practise 12 hours a day.

All his life he practiced the piano steadily for 5-6 hours a day.

He didn't perform on stage for a long period of time (12 years, I think). But at the same time I signed contracts with recording studios, i.e. I never stopped practicing.

After such a long break, the public was very much looking forward to the maestro's first concert, which took place at Carnegie Hall. Horowitz was very nervous, but the concert was a great success. And critics unanimously recognized that the pianist's playing had become more mature.

Horowitz and Neuhaus.

He was friends with Heinrich Neugaz, who, incidentally, always spoke with great admiration of Horowitz's playing. Although he did not like it when a pianist's technique "came to the fore".

"I want to play this etude in one minute," Horowitz used to say.

He used all kinds of pianistic techniques to achieve his goals. He believed that there were four directions of finger movements: toward, away from, to the right, and to the left.

Neuhaus, on the other hand, only approved of finger movements "towards oneself".

Nevertheless, Neuhaus "forgave" Horowitz this technical concentration. After all, Heinrich Gustavovich Neuhaus himself wrote and said that the greater the talent, the better the technique should be.

And Horowitz's talents were fine.

To be convinced of this, it is enough to play any of his recordings. One can argue or even strongly disapprove of the interpretation. But the fact that he was an extraordinarily musically gifted man becomes obvious after a few seconds of listening to him play.

Incidentally, Heinrich and Vladimir gave a concert in duet, which contemporaries recalled with delight for many years afterwards. Neuhaus spoke with admiration about Horowitz's love affair with the piano!

After all, when Horowitz saw a grand piano, he instantly jumped up to the instrument and began to play the most vivid moments from various works.

Neuhaus did not share Horowitz's approach to the concert program, which was always structured in a certain way, exclusively with the audience in mind.

Horowitz tried to play fewer long pieces. He emphasized more on bright and spectacular encores.

But even so, Neuhaus had great respect for Horowitz as a performer.

Horowitz's sincere love for music

As a child, Vladimir Horowitz had little interest in anything but music. When he was "present" at lessons, he always sang certain musical fragments to himself. Classmates fondly called him crazy pianist.

He was always very emotional and assertive. He channeled all his emotions into the sound. There was no "theatrical mimicry" on his face while playing the piano, he said so himself in his old age. By the way, not unlike modern pianists.

He took his amazing grand piano with him to concerts. They say that this piano is very easy to press the keys (double rehearsal).

Brilliant, charismatic, extraordinary. The great pianist Horowitz!

Volodymyr Slakva, online piano teacher
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