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Horowitz Rachmaninoff 3rd Piano Concerto Mehta NYPO 1978 with sheet music from our Library

Vladimir Horowitz (1903 – 1989)

(Berdichev, Ukraine, 1903 – New York, 1989) American pianist of Russian origin. Vladimir Horowitz began studying the piano with his mother when he was six years old, and at fifteen he entered the Conservatory of his hometown, where he was a distinguished student of Felix Blumenfeld.

He offered his first recital in Kharkov (1922), obtaining great success; the 1924-1925 season he performed more than seventy concerts, something unusual at that time. From that year, investing his own money, he undertook various tours of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, revealing himself as one of the most virtuoso pianists of his time.

In Paris, the American representative Arthur Judson offered him a contract to tour the United States in 1928. His debut took place at Carnegie Hall and the concert, like the subsequent tour, established him as one of the most important pianists of the century. XX. In 1933 he undertook a tour with Arturo Toscanini to play Beethoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto No. 5 as a soloist, thanks to which he met Wanda Toscanini, the legendary director’s daughter, whom he would marry shortly after in Milan. . In 1940 he settled in New York, and two years later he was granted US citizenship.

In 1953, he decided to retire from the stage, and for twelve years he devoted himself to training young piano talents and making his first recordings.

In 1965, he returned to the concert stage and continued recording his performances, among which the works of Chopin, Liszt, Skriabin, Debussy and Prokofiev stand out, although his excellent musical gifts allowed him to approach all repertoire with great virtuosity.

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In 1986, he made a historic visit to Russia, which raised great expectations. Vladimir Horowitz kept his piano activity uneventful almost until the end of his life.