Krystian Zimerman

Krystian Zimerman stands as one of the most sensitive and controversial concert pianists to emerge in the latter half of the twentieth century. His extensive recordings with Deutsche Grammaphon cover a broad range of repertoire from the classical period to modernity, including the complete piano concertos of Beethoven and Brahms, important works by Schubert, Liszt, Grieg, Bartσk, and Szymanowski, and all of Debussy's preludes. At the same time, early in his career Zimerman established a reputation for maintaining dauntingly high personal artistic standards, being very selective in undertaking projects, and limiting himself to only a small number of concert engagements each year. Initially a student of his pianist father, and later, Andrzej Jasinski and Artur Rubinstein, Zimerman demonstrated his nuanced and distinctive technique at a young age. He was already concertizing as a very young boy, and was not yet 20 years old when he took first prize in the 1975 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. During the 1980s and 1990s, Zimerman performed concertos with the world's finest orchestras and conductors, including the premiere of Lutoslawski's "Piano Concerto" (which was composed for and dedicated to the pianist). Zimerman's creation of the Polish Festival Orchestra in 1999 remains one of his greatest accomplishments. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Chopin, Zimerman personally selected an ensemble of young musicians, which he then led in unusually numerous and rigorous rehearsals of Chopin's two piano concertos. The orchestra developed a highly idiomatic sound, one that brought out intricate subtleties from Chopin's oft-maligned orchestral scores and illuminated a new level of interplay between soloist and orchestra in these works. Once they had fully developed their unique approach, Zimerman and the PFO undertook extensive world tours, performing Chopin's piano concertos for audiences the world over. They also released a recording that sold out quickly and caused a noted division among critics, who, as is has often been the case with Zimerman's work, were sharply divided between engaged enthusiasts and appalled traditionalists

                                                    Interview

Interview by Krystian Zimerman about the Chopin Competition of 2010, carried by Ongaku-no-tomo, a music magazine in Japan, December 2010 issue.

Interviewer: Shinichiro Okabe, Professor of Meiji University and music critic.

This article is nothing to do with Rafał Blechacz.  But for those who showed interest in the topic, I’m posting it.

*******************************

It was late in October that Krystian Zimerman called me saying that he has something that he needs to talk about this year’s Chopin Competition.  It was just after the competition ended and the news of Julianna Avdeeva’s winning quickly got around the world.  Zimerman remained in Tokyo after completing his tour with Hagen Quartet to play pieces by Bacewicz and Schuman.  He was about to leave the next morning and I met him the previous day that he is returning to Europe.

Words began to pour from his lips as though a dam inside him had broken.  He has already organized the points.  This year no Japanese contestant was able to be qualified for the final and he said he wanted to refer to that, too.

Zimerman: Thank you for coming with such a short notice.  First let me say that this year’s competition, there was a situation that I must describe as quite complicated and abnormal.  During the competition, I kept contacts with some twenty people of various kinds: those who were at the Hall of the Competition and directly heard the performances, those reliable critics who have good ears, some close friends, and others who heard the Competition via TV and the Internet.  I was staying in Tokyo, watching carefully how it was in the Competition and I immediately noticed one thing;

“The sound that now I’m hearing via microphone is different from the sound of live performance in Warsaw".  I have a thorough knowledge of how the Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw sounds and how the piano on that stage sounds, because I played there many times.  You must express extremely clear in order to communicate your interpretation accurately to listeners.  For example, a small crescendo doesn’t make difference in that environment.  Sometimes you must use an exaggerated expression.  The performance, then, is broadcast.  Microphone captures each sound and the reverberation and other elements are adjusted.  The music thus conveyed through speaker systems becomes an “exaggerated” music.  So the music delivered to those who listen to the performances on TV or via the Internet becomes different from the live performances.  In reality, there were many who listened to the final stage of the Competition through broadcast felt that “it is not right.  The judgment is wrong”.  But those who were at the Hall to listen to the live performances didn’t understand why so many people were opposed to the verdict. “What’s the problem? “ they thought, believing that the verdict was reasonable. 

Then the controversy happened.  It’s natural.  The fact was that two different versions of the Competition were heard.  Those who heard the performances only with Net or TV didn’t notice it.  But for me it was clear.  The sound by broadcast is different from the raw sound at the hall.  The sound that performers created on the stage disappeared because artificial corrections were added.  Therefore, I won’t give any evaluation to the current competition, because what I was able to hear was only the “different version”.  I will therefore, avoid citing each contestant’s name.

However, when I see people criticize the result of the judgment while others endorsing it, the observation gave me a lot of materials to consider from many points of view.  It could be that those who heard performances only through media without exposed to the live performances came to make wrong evaluation, which I think is important point to consider.

---It could be safely said that Japanese audience is fortunate, although being very far from Warsaw, because in January there will be concerts here participated by this year’s laureates and they will be able to hear their performances directly.  You can make sure each performer and understand his/her music.

Zimerman: Secondly, how a competition should be, what kind of possibility it provides or how it should not be.  My belief is that a competition should not be a tool to decide future course of a pianist.  Any competition cannot play such a role.  Actually, the Chopin Competition in Warsaw shouldn’t pretend that they can accomplish the impossible.  Of course they don’t believe that they can do it.  Needless to say, all the judges are with excellent insights, pianists of exceptional talent, active in the first line.  Andrzej Jasinski is a man of integrity and there is no doubt about it. He clearly articulates what he believes in.He asserts what he thinks is right, never bending his principle if it may embarrass others.It is absolutely impossible to buy the award of the Chopin Competition by money.

--It is true.  It is very different from an international sports event that we’ve heard recently.  (laughing)

Zimerman:  Setting aside joking, as far as the Chopin Competition is concerned, I strongly believe that there is no room of such a wrongdoing.  But when I talked with him on the phone recently, he confessed that judging this year’s competition was extremely difficult.  Actually, all the finalists were talented to be qualified for winning the crown of victory.  Each talent differs, of course.  Their talents extend toward many different directions, but judges have to decide who comes first, then the second and third, etc, putting diversified talents onto the linear scale.  What they had to do was to forcefully plot three-dimensional dots of talents onto the one-dimensional order.  If you look at the awardees of special prizes, the Sonata Award went to the first placer, whereas the other awards for Mazurkas, Polonaise and Concerto were given to different contestants.  This is the evidence of how the finalists were equally matched in ability.  Of course the winner was recognized as a very excellent pianist.  But the other musicians of runner-ups and below were equally excellent and it was significantly difficult to tell who is best or better.  Therefore it entailed the very difficult problem.  They had to decide who is the first, second and the third. But I’m wondering if it was something that should not be done.  I would like to ask the question to many people.  Is it so important for you that a pianist is recognized in a competition as the first placer or second/third?  Is the ranking so important?

--True, in journalism, what is taken up first is who is the winner and what is the ranking.  Journalists have to writes in a limited space and this kind of attitude is often seen in the press.

Zimerman: Of course people in the business and managers who pay close attention to the result of the competition argue that the winner sells by far the better than the second/third placers.  If they invite a musician of second or third award, it cannot attract audience.  Listeners want to hear the winner’s performance, they say.  But it seems to me that everyone tries to shift the responsibility concerning the competition onto someone else.  Rather than that, we all must play our roles.  Managers should take more challenging way rather than contain themselves to secured path.  A good practice is shown in Japan where all the finalists are invited to play in one concert.

--In order to give an opportunity to all the players.

Zimerman: Yes, that’s correct.  And I also would like the audience to think about this.  Generally speaking, the difference between a pianist of the first prize, and second or third prize is very small.  It is so negligible that you cannot tell who is the best or this pianist is second.  Therefore, it could be said that the verdict done by judges of a competition may not be so important. 

--Actually, we’ve seen situations in which a winner of a prestigious competition ended up falling into obscurity whereas pianists of the second/third places have developed a very great career.  The list goes on and on. 

Zimerman: And each listener should go to concerts to listen directly to and make his/her own evaluation to each talent. 

(From here, Zimerman talks about why Japanese contestants were not able to be promoted to the third round.  He says that the Japanese didn’t understand for what purpose they were on the stage to play music.  Their mind was full of themselves.  They simply forgot to communicate with music to the listeners.  I’m not going into detail.)

Zimerman: …Those who didn’t reach the final stage are not losers.  We must not regard them as losers who reached that level and were able to be on the stage of the Chopin Competition…..Take for example, there are 100 participants in a competition.  As a result of verdict, one person is decided as winner.  But does this mean the remaining 99 pianists are losers?  Not limited to these 99.  Think about their families, teachers and friends. So many people could be made unhappy by the result when they stick to one point; I (he/she) was not able to win.

--If this is the case, the competition doesn’t make sense.

Zimerman; A competition must not be a tool to hurt someone.  But it is not reasonable to try to discontinue all the competitions.  Do you have an alternative?  After all the competitions are abolished, what do you think can fill the huge void?  First we must understand this problem before going into an extreme discussion, otherwise it is dangerous.  Because there is a competition, there are many young people making utmost effort to try to win.  I know a great many young musicians who make a leap frog of development in the three months period before the competition.  So what is important here is how we should deal with various issues in relation to a competition.

(To be continued to the next issue of Ongaku-no-tomo, which I’ve not yet read.)

********************************** 

Monthly Chopin, another music magazine carried in its December 2010 issue, a full-fledged special of this year’s Competition.  It includes detailed interviews with nine judges.  Naturally, they all make a statement to protect legitimacy of the result.  This is the initial part of the interview with Andrzey Jasinski.

--Are you satisfied with the result?

Yes, but let me say that all the judges had different opinions.  Please understand the majority’s opinion brought out the result. To the winner, seven judges put the first place and five judges put second place.  The way of reaching the verdict is democratic.

--How do you think about Avdeeva’s winning?

Of course I agree with the result which was decided by all the judges.  I have no intention to talk about my personal opinion here. She is a good pianist.  But let me say that if I look back the past experiences when Zimerman, Argerich and Blechacz won, this year’s winner does not reach that level. She showed various musical interpretations, and sometimes I felt she added too excessive interpretations in some rhythms such as tenuto and the way to decrease tempos…..She maintained a certain high level of performance in all the stages including the laureates’ concert and performance in front of the president.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

                         
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 to Leopold and Anna Mozart in the town of Salzburg Austria. Leopold, perhaps the greatest influence on Mozart's life, was the vice Kapellmeister (assistant choir director) to the Archbishop of Salzburg at the time of Mozart's birth.
Mozart was actually christened as "Joannes Chrysotomus Wolfgangus Theophilus," but adopted the Latin term "Amadeus"^FN1 as his name of choice.
Mozart was one of seven children born to Leopold and Anna, however, only one other sibling survived. Maria Anna Mozart was affectionately known to her younger brother as "Nannerl." Nannerl and Mozart both exhibited musical abilities at an early age and, with guidance and instruction from their learned father, performed regularly in front of royalty and religious echelons.
Leopold has grown over history to be considered a strict but adoring father to Mozart. In a letter addressed to his son reflecting on the child's early formative years, Leopold wrote "As a child and a boy you were serious rather than childish and when you sat at the clavier or were otherwise intent on music, no one dared to have the slightest jest with you. Why, even your expression was so solemn that, observing the early efflorescence of your talent and your ever grave and thoughtful little face, many discerning people of different countries sadly doubted whether your life would be a long one."

Unfortunately, Mozart's life was a short one. He died just prior to turning 36 years old on December 5, 1791 after suffering an illness which attacked Mozart viciously and rapidly. The rumors of the day included that Mozart had been poisoned, a basis for the musicalAmadeus -- which attributes the death of Mozart to the efforts of Antonio Salieri, a rival musician of the day.

Despite his relatively short life, Mozart has made a tremendous impact on music even 250 years after his birth. With major compositions ranging from the delightful opera The Magic Flute to dark and powerful scores within his Requiem in D minor, Mozart displayed versatility and an ability to use music to connect the listener with Mozart's soul and spirit.

Although Mozart spent a part of his life in the service of the Church, Mozart did not dedicate a great number of his works to the Holy Faith. Mozart's major compositions for church-related purposes included the Requiem mentioned above and theCoronation Mass.

Instrumental music was the mainstay of Mozart's composition efforts. When reflecting on Mozart's musical contributions, the student of Mozart will find:

• 41 symphonies
• 21 concertos for piano and orchestra (not including one Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra & one for three pianos and orchestra)
• 5 concertos for violin and orchestra
• 4 for horn and orchestra
• 2 for flute and orchestra
• 1 for clarinet and orchestra
• 1 for bassoon and orchestra
• 13 serenades
• 23 divertimenti
• 35 sonatas for violin and piano
• 12 duets for wind instruments

By no means is the above list exhaustive, which may be found at the WAMozartFan.com Complete Works site.

FN1: Mozart also used "Amadé" in some writings.

---

1756-1772: The Formative Years
With a successful father with musical inclination, Mozart began instruction very early. Leopold Mozart was a celebrated composer and violinist in his own right. When Leopold realized the potential his son and daughter had in the musical realm, the father displayed his children's talents for all of Europe to see.Mozart wrote his first compositions at the tender age of five years. The pieces, which were relatively simple, displayed the five year old's grasp of music compositional form and structure. The compositions are what Mozart is remembered for today, but Mozart was also well known as a youngster for his abilities on the harpsichord (a pre-cursor to the piano), clavier and violin.
Leopold, who sought to promote his children's abilities outside of Salzburg, commenced tours of the European continent with the first tour, which started in January with travels to Munich. After travels to Pressburg and Vienna, the Mozart family returned almost a year later on January 5, 1763. The second tour was the first in which the Mozarts journeyed across the European continent over a span of three and one-half years.
The tour, which began on June 9, 1763, included Brussels, Paris and the southern portions of Germany. The last stop on the first leg was in Paris, where Mozart had his first compositions published. The four violin sonatas (K.6 through K.9) were composed during the winter of 1763-1764.
After the winter season completed, Mozart and his family headed to London, where the young prodigy would spend a year and a half. In London, Mozart met Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. Although Johann Christian was nowhere near the composer his father was, the young Mozart was impacted strongly by the composer. During his time in London, Mozart composed his first two symphonies, K. 16 and K. 19. The influence of Bach and his colleague, Karl Friedrich Abel, is evident as the early pieces of Mozart are similar in structure and sound as J.C. Bach. The J.C. Bach influence continued into the later years as Mozart would utilize several Bach piano sonatas as the basis for some piano concertos.
After spending the 1765-66 winter in Holland, the Mozarts returned home through final stops in Brussels, Paris, Geneva, Berne and Munich. A second trip began shortly after this first one was complete. On September 11, 1767, the family again left Salzburg for a trip to Vienna. During the Vienna trip, Mozart composed his first German operetta,Bastien und Batienne (K.50), and his first Italian opera, La finta semplice (K.51).
La finta semplice met resistance from the Italian led portion of the Austrian Imperial Court and was not produced, although it was ordered by the Emperor. Mozart was allowed, however, to conduct a new mass (Mass in C minor, K. 139) before the Emperor for the dedication of the Waisenhäus Church on December 7, 1768. When Mozart returned to Salzburg, longtime family friend and patron, Archbishop Sigismund von Schrattenbach, caused La finta semplice to be performed in the Archbishop's palace and named Mozart as his Konzertmeister.
In December, 1769, the Mozarts started a fifteen month tour of Italy, which included stops in Milan and Padua. The second Italian tour, which was only four months in length, included a commissioned work by Empress Maria Theresa for her son's impending marriage. During the third tour, Archbishop died and was followed in office by Count Colloredo, the bishop of Gurk. In April, 1772, Mozart composed a festive opera for the installation of the Count to the office of Archbishop.

---

1773-1777: Munich, Salzburg, & Vienna
Leopold tried to get Mozart an appointment to the Imperial court in Vienna when they visited in 1773. As a sign of things to come, the appointment was not granted and Mozart was unable to remain in the stable position of court musician. Mozart's trip to Vienna was not in vain, however, as he was able to meet and study with Franz Joseph Haydn. Haydn's influence is first seen in six string quartets Mozart composed when Haydn's Opus 20 quartets came to being in 1772. The quartets, K.168 to K.173, adopt the Viennese four movement form rather than the Italian three movement standard. Although Mozart was quite arrogant according to history and legend, he was very gracious when speaking of Haydn's works. Haydn's influence is also seen if what some consider the most famous piece Mozart wrote during this time was the Symphony #25 in G Minor (K.183).Mozart spent the last portion of 1773 and most of 1774 composing at home in Salzburg. Major Compositions during this time include the Bassoon Concerto in Bb Major (K.191) and four symphonies (K.199-K.202). After a four month stint in Munich from December 1774 to March, 1775, Mozart again came home to Salzburg not finding a new court appointment. The failure to secure a court appointment didn't keep Mozart from composing. During the rest of 1775 through September, 1777, Mozart stayed in Salzburg and wrote several pieces, including the opera Il ré pastore (K.208), several violin concertos (K.207, 211, 216, 218 & 219), and the Credo Mass, technically entitled Mass in C Major (K.257).

---

1777-1781: Early Adulthood; Struggles at Work
The strain of life as a servant musician began to show its effect on Mozart and his employer, Archbishop Colloredo. In August, 1777, Mozart formally requested to be discharged from his duties and the Archbishop allowed Mozart and Leopold to "seek their fortune elsewhere, according to the Gospel." As Mozart and Leopold had already been travelling throughout Europe trying to secure a new appointment, it is not surprising that Mozart was unable to secure another prestigious appointment and did not break with the Archbishop until years later.Although Mozart had not been able to secure employment on any of his tours prior, he and his mother immediately left Salzburg in September 1777. Travelling without his father, Mozart journeyed though Germany to Paris, where Mozart hoped to find a permanent position. Mozart would not reach his goal. However, the trip was not unimportant in the Mozart history. While on the trip, the Mozarts met Fridolin Weber and Mozart fell in love with his second daughter, Aloysia.
Aloysia was a talented coloratura soprano and Mozart had hoped to journey with her to Italy, but his father refused to let Mozart divert from his course to Paris. Mozart left the Webers and Munich for Paris. While in Paris, Mozart's mother died on July 3, 1778. Rather than journey quickly back to Salzburg, Mozart took a slow path back, including a stop in Munich where he longed to see his beloved Aloysia. Unfortunately for Wolfgang, Aloysia didn't pay much attention to him, if any. Mozart's journal seems to reflect that she barely recognized him. Mozart's journal entry was dated December 29, 1778. After this entry, Mozart immediately went to Salzburg, where he arrived in January, 1779.
Mozart finally found some success in his search for a court appointment when he applied for the position of court organist in Salzburg. Mozart commenced his tenure in early 1779. During this time, Mozart was able to compose some brilliant sacred pieces, including the Coronation Mass (K.317), a Missa Solemnis in C Major (K.337) and Symphony #34 in C Major (K.338).
Friends from Munich secured a commission for an opera for Mozart to compose. The opera, Idomeneo, King of Crete, was the first opera seria which Mozart exhibited the extent of his abilities to take a simple libretto (text) and make something grand of it. When it premiered to astounding acclaim in late January, 1781, Idomeneo also caught the attention of the music court of the Emperor of Austria, Joseph II.
Relations with the Archbishop finally reached the boiling point when he summoned Mozart back to Salzburg to perform for his subjects. Colloredo treated Mozart as a servant. He was forced to eat with the other servants, could not perform in homes of other members of the aristocracy and was treated like a low-grade commoner. Mozart had enough of the treatment and resigned. When he did not receive an official dismissal, allowing him to secure work elsewhere, Mozart went to the Prince-Archbishop's palace, where he was kicked out "on his behind" by the Archbishop's steward.

---

1781-1787: The Independent Life
Free from the rigors of court life, Mozart had nothing to keep him solvent. As the first musician since George Frederic Handel to work without the aid of a patron. Mozart's initial successes would prove to be just initial successes. Emperor Joseph II commissioned a new opera from Mozart in 1781, shortly after he was dismissed by the Archbishop. The opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, struck several negative chords with the predominantly Italian comprised music court of Joseph II. The topic, a Seraglio (or Harem) in Turkey was considered inappropriate for a National Theater. Additionally, the use of German text rather than the more accepted Italian upset the traditionalist court, who had difficulty accepting Mozart's willingness to exceed their conservative boundaries. The opera debuted nonetheless in 1782 to great success.By this time, Mozart had already fallen in love with another Weber daughter. Despite strong protests from Leopold, Wolfgang married Constanze Weber in August, 1782. Weber became pregnant quickly and in 1783, Mozart and Constanze saw their first child, Raimund Leopold, die in infancy. Wolfgang and Constanze went to Salzburg in August, 1783. Constanze was not well-liked by either Leopold or Nannerl. Many criticisms of Constanze have been leveled, including her lack of control of money. But it is undoubtedly true that she cared very deeply for Mozart and his well being.
Mozart spent most of his efforts supporting his family composing and performing piano concerti for the public. As the piano was a fairly new instrument and was still being refined at the time, Mozart was not just a master performer on the instrument, but he also displayed a mastery of the mechanical aspects of the piano. Mozart even had technicians modify his piano to add a pedal for his use in performance. Despite being an active performer and composer, the performances were not paying the bills for the young couple. With additional children on the way, freedom was becoming more costly to the young Mozart.
The Mozart's second child, Carl Thomas was born in 1784 and lived to his mid-seventies. Another child, Johann Thomas Leopold Mozart, was born in 1786 and did not survive. The first girl born to the couple, Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna Mozart was born in 1787 and survived long enough to see the next year, but died in 1788.
Leopold visited Vienna for two months in 1785 and bore witness to some of Mozart's greatest success. Mozart completed a series a string quartets he had dedicated to Haydn during this time period (K.387, 421, 428, 458, 464 & 465). Haydn came to Mozart's apartment and heard the final three performed. Haydn spoke a few words to Leopold which should have boosted his pride in his son, despite his regrets over his choice of independent lifestyle with Constanze. Haydn told Leopold "Before God, and, as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me, either in person or by name."

The Marriage of Figaro debuted in Vienna on May 1, 1786. An enormous success, Mozart followed Figaro with the dark opera Don Giovanni. Don Giovanni was a huge success in Prague, where it debuted. In early December, 1787, Mozart was able to secure an appointment as chamber composer for Joseph II. His pay was set at 800 gulden annually (his predecessor, Christoph von Gluck, made 2,000 gulden annually.)

---

1788-1791: The Final Years
The last three symphonies Mozart Composed, (Eb Major, K.543; G minor, K.550 & C Major (Jupiter), K.551, were all composed in 1788. Don Giovanni, which had opened so successfully in Prague, was a dismal failure in Vienna.The lack of a patron now was causing Mozart great financial stress and difficulty. Mozart borrowed from many of his friends, including members of his Masonic lodge. In efforts to make money to save his finances, Mozart took a tour in 1789, hoping to raise funds. The tour was not a great success and there was not a great impact on Mozart's finances.
Mozart would have two last children. Anna, the fifth Mozart child not to survive, was born and died in 1789. The last child born, Franz Xaver Wolfgang was born in 1791. Xaver lived to maturity and died in 1844, fourteen years before his older brother would pass away.
Mozart's final compositions include a Requiem Mass, which was commissioned by a stranger. Although the musical Amadeusdepicts rival musician Antonio Salieri commissioning the Requiem Mass from Mozart, the facts are otherwise. In the summer of 1791, Count Franz von Walsegg commissioned the Requiem Mass from Mozart with intents on performing the piece under his own name. Walsegg often paid professional musicians for works which he would then perform under his own name. Such was the intent in this instance.
Mozart became quickly and violently ill in the autumn of 1791. Because of his quick decline in health, many rumored that he was poisoned. The playAmadeus uses these rumors, along with a confession by an insane elderly Salieri as the basis for his play. In 1966, physician Carl Bür performed a detailed analysis and concluded Mozart died of heart failure cause by rheumatic fever and excessive blood letting.
Mozart died on December 5, 1791 in Vienna. He was buried the next day in an pauper's grave, along with several other people's bodies in a mass grave. Constanze was left with two children and enormous debts. She later remarried and died in Salzburg in 1842.

                              

Vladimir Horowitz

                       

Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (Russian: Владимир Самойлович Горовиц, Vladimir Samojlovich Gorovitz; October 1 [O.S.September 18] 1903 – November 5, 1989) was an American classical pianist and composer. His technique and use of tone colorand the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.
[edit]Vladimir Horowitz was born in Kiev in the Russian Empire (now the capital of Ukraine). There are unsubstantiated claims that Horowitz was born in Berdychiv; however, his birth certificate unequivocally states Kiev as his birthplace.
Life and early career

Horowitz was the youngest of four children of Samuil Horowitz and Sophia Bodik, who were assimilated Jews. Samuil was a well-to-do electrical engineer and a distributor of electric motors for German manufacturers. Horowitz's grandfather Joachim was a merchant (and an arts-supporter), belonging to the 1st Guild. This status gave exemption from having to reside in the Pale of Settlement. Horowitz was born in 1903, but in order to make him 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. The 1904 date appeared in many reference works during the pianist's lifetime.

Horowitz received piano instruction from an early age, initially from his mother, who was herself a pianist. In 1912 he entered the Kiev Conservatory, where he was taught by Vladimir Puchalsky, Sergei Tarnowsky, and Felix Blumenfeld. His first solo recital was in Kharkiv in 1920.

Horowitz's fame grew, 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 caused by the Civil War. During the 1922–1923 season, he performed 23 concerts of eleven different programs in Petrograd alone. Despite his early success as a pianist, Horowitz maintained that he wanted to be a composer, and undertook a career as a pianist only to help his family, who had lost their possessions in the Russian Revolution.[8]

In December 1925, Horowitz crossed the border into the West, ostensibly to study with Artur Schnabel. Privately intending not to return, the pianist had stuffed American dollars and British pound notes into his shoes to finance his initial concerts.
[edit]Career in the West

Horowitz in 1931

On December 18, 1925, Horowitz made his first appearance outside his home country, in Berlin. He later played in Paris, London andNew York City. Horowitz was selected by Soviet authorities to represent Ukraine in the inaugural 1927 International Chopin Piano Competition; however, the pianist had decided to stay in the West and thus did not participate..

Horowitz gave his United States debut on January 12, 1928, in Carnegie Hall. He played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 under the direction of Sir Thomas Beecham, who was also making his U.S. debut. Horowitz later commented that he and Beecham had divergent ideas regarding tempos, and that Beecham was conducting the score "from memory and he didn't know" the piece. Horowitz's success with the audience was phenomenal. Olin Downes, writing for the New York Times, was critical about the metric tug of warbetween conductor and soloist, but Downes credited the pianist with both a beautiful singing tone in the second movement and a tremendous technique in the finale, referring to Horowitz's playing as a "tornado unleashed from the steppes".In this debut performance, Horowitz demonstrated a marked ability to excite his audience, an ability he maintained for his entire career. As Downes commented, "it has been years since a pianist created such a furor with an audience in this city." In his review of Horowitz's solo recital, Downes characterized the pianist's playing as showing "most if not all the traits of a great interpreter."In 1933, he played for the first time with the conductor Arturo Toscanini in a performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor. 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.

Despite rapturous receptions at recitals, Horowitz became increasingly unsure of his abilities as a pianist. On several occasions, the pianist had to be pushed onto the stage. Several times, he withdrew from public performances - during 1936 to 1938, 1953 to 1965, 1969 to 1974, and 1983 to 1985. He made his television debut in a concert taped at Carnegie Hall on February 1, 1968, and broadcast nationwide by CBS on September 22 of that year.
[edit]Recordings



Horowitz at the time of his first recordings.

In 1926, Horowitz performed on several piano rolls at the Welte-Mignon studios in Freiburg, Germany. His first gramophone recordings were made in the United States in 1928 for RCA Victor. Because of the economic impact of the Great Depression, RCA Victor agreed to allow its recording artists' European-produced recordings to be made by His Master's Voice, RCA's London based affiliate. Horowitz's first European recording, in 1930, was of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Albert Coates and theLondon Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere recording of that piece. Through 1936, Horowitz continued to make recordings for HMV of solo piano repertoire, including his famous 1932 account of Liszt's Sonata in B minor. Beginning in 1940, Horowitz's recording activity was again concentrated in the US. That year, he 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 issued the live 1943 performance of the Tchaikovsky concerto with Horowitz and Toscanini; it is generally considered superior to the commercial recording, and it was selected for the Grammy Hall of Fame. During Horowitz's second retirement, which began in 1953, he made a series of recordings in his New York 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 acclaimed recordings for Columbia Records. The most famous are his 1965 return concert at Carnegie Hall and a 1968 recording from his television special, Vladimir Horowitz: a Concert at Carnegie Hall, televised by CBS. Horowitz continued making studio recordings, including a 1969 recording of Schumann'sKreisleriana, which was awarded the Prix Mondial du Disque.

In 1975, Horowitz returned to RCA and made live recordings until 1982. He signed with Deutsche Grammophon in 1985, and made studio and live recordings until 1989, including his only recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. Four filmed documents were made during this time, including the telecast of his April 20, 1986 Moscow recital. His final recording, for Sony Classical, was completed four days before his death and consisted of repertoire he had never previously recorded.[16]

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 material. These included selections from Carnegie Hall recitals recorded privately for Horowitz from 1945–1951.
[edit]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 his relationship to Horowitz during that period as a surrogate son, and he often traveled with Horowitz and his wife during concert tours. Davis was invited to become one of Horowitz's students after receiving a call from him the day after he won the Franz Liszt Competition.[19] At the time, Davis had a contract with Columbia Records and a national tour planned. Horowitz claimed that he had only taught three students during that period. "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." According to biographer Glenn Plaskin, "The fact that Horowitz disavowed most of his students and blurred the facts regarding their periods of study says something about the erratic nature of his personality during that period".]Horowitz returned to coaching in the 1980s, working with Murray Perahia, who already had an established career, and Eduardus Halim.
[edit]Personal life

In 1933, in a civil ceremony, Horowitz married Toscanini's daughter Wanda. Although Horowitz was Jewish and Wanda Catholic, this 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). It has never been determined whether her death, from a drug overdose, was accidental or a suicide.[1]

Despite his marriage, there were persistent rumors of Horowitz's homosexuality. Arthur Rubinstein said of Horowitz that "Everyone knew and accepted him as a homosexual."David Dubal wrote that in his years with Horowitz, there was no evidence that the octogenarian was sexually active, but that "there was no doubt he was powerfully attracted to the male body and was most likely often sexually frustrated throughout his life."[22] Dubal observed that Horowitz sublimated a strong instinctual sexuality into a powerful erotic undercurrent which was communicated in his piano playing. Horowitz, who denied being homosexual once joked, "There are three kinds of pianists: Jewish pianists, homosexual pianists, and bad pianists."

In the 1940s, Horowitz began seeing a psychiatrist. According to sources, this was an attempt to alter his sexual orientation. In the 1960s and again in the 1970s, the pianist underwent electroshock treatment for depression.

In 1982, Horowitz began using prescribed anti-depressant medications; there are reports that he was drinking alcohol as well. Consequently, his playing underwent a perceptible decline during this period. The pianist’s 1983 performances in the United States and Japan were marred by memory lapses and a loss of physical control. (At the latter, one Japanese critic likened Horowitz to a "precious antique vase that is cracked.") He stopped playing in public for the next two years.
[edit]The last years

While Wanda looks on, Horowitz receives thePresidential Medal of Freedom from PresidentRonald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan(presenting it to him).

By 1985, Horowitz, no longer taking medication or drinking alcohol, returned to concertizing and recording and was back on form. His first post-retirement appearance was not on stage, but in the documentary film Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic. In many of his later performances, the octogenarian pianist substituted finesse and coloration for bravura, although he was still capable of remarkable technical feats. Many critics, including Harold C. Schonberg and Richard Dyer, felt that his post-1985 performances and recordings were the best of his later years.

In 1986, Horowitz announced that he would return to the Soviet Union for the first time since 1925 to give recitals in Moscow andLeningrad. In the new atmosphere of communication and understanding between the USSR and the USA, 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,[29] which was audible to viewers of the internationally televised recital. The Moscow concert 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. 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, he 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 one of his last public recitals, Horowitz in Vienna, was released in 1991. His final recital, in Hamburg, Germany, took place on June 21, 1987. He continued to record for the remainder of his life.

Vladimir Horowitz died on November 5, 1989 in New York of a heart attack, aged 86. He was buried in the Toscanini family tomb in the Cimitero Monumentale, Milan, Italy.
[edit]Repertoire, technique and performance style

Horowitz is best known for his performances of the Romantic piano repertoire. Many consider Horowitz's first recording of the Liszt Sonata in 1932 to be the definitive reading of that piece, after over 75 years and over 100 performances committed to disc by other pianists. Other pieces with which he was closely associated were Scriabin's Étude in D-sharp minor, Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, and many Rachmaninoff miniatures, including Polka de W.R.. Horowitz was acclaimed for his recordings of the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3, and his performance before Rachmaninoff awed the composer, who proclaimed "he swallowed it whole. He had the courage, the intensity, the daring." Horowitz was known for his performances of quieter, more intimate works, including Schumann's Kinderszenen, Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas, keyboard sonatas by Clementi and several Mozart and Haydn sonatas. Horowitz's recordings of Scarlatti and Clementi are particularly prized by listeners, and the pianist is credited with helping to have revived interest in the two composers, whose works had been seldom performed or recorded during the first half of the twentieth 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.

He was known for his 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 he stated that it was the most difficult of his arrangements. Horowitz's transcriptions of note include his composition Variations on a Theme from Carmen and 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 he considered “unpianistic” writing or structural clumsiness. In 1940, with the composer’s consent, Horowitz created his own performance edition of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Sonata from the 1913 original and 1931 revised versions, which pianists including Ruth Laredo and Hélène Grimaud subsequently used. He 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 altered short passages in certain 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 their work - even when he did take liberties with their scores.

Horowitz's interpretations were 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 appearing in the New York Herald Tribune. Horowitz claimed to take Thomson's remarks as complimentary, stating that Michelangeloand 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. In addition, many pianists, amongst them Shura Cherkassky, Earl Wild, Lazar Berman, John Browning, Van Cliburn, Maurizio Pollini, Murray Perahia, Yefim Bronfman, and Horacio Gutiérrez held Horowitz in high regard and expressed their admiration for him.

Horowitz's performing style frequently involved vast dynamic contrasts, with overwhelming double-fortissimos followed by sudden delicate pianissimos. He was able to produce an extraordinary volume of sound from the piano, without producing a harsh tone. Horowitz could elicit an exceptionally wide range of tonal color from the piano, and his taut, precise attack was noticeable even in his renditions of technically undemanding pieces such as the Chopin Mazurkas. He is known for his octave technique; he could play precise passages in octaves extraordinarily fast. When asked by the pianist Tedd Joselson how he practiced octaves, Horowitz gave a demonstration and Joselson reported, "He 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 color." Oscar Levant, in his book, The Memoirs of an Amnesiac, wrote that Horowitz's octaves were "brilliant, accurate and etched out like bullets." He asked Horowitz "whether he shipped them ahead or carried them with him on tour."

Horowitz's hand position was unusual in that the palm was often below the level of the key surface. He frequently played chords with straight fingers, and the little finger of his 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 aural excitement of his playing, Horowitz rarely raised his hands higher than the piano's fallboard. His body was immobile, and his face seldom reflected anything other than intense concentration.

Horowitz preferred performing on Sunday afternoons, as he felt the audience would be better rested and more attentive than during a weekday evening.

Beethoven quotes

                                 
 I shall seize Fate by the throat; it shall certainly not bend and crush me completely.
-- Ludwig van Beethoven, letter to F G Wegeler, 1801

Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.
-- Ludwig van Beethoven, quoted by Bettina von Arnin, letter to Goethe, 1810

When I open my eyes I must sigh, for what I see is contrary to my religion, and I must despise the world which does not know that music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. 
-- Ludwig van Beethoven, quoted by Bettina von Arnin, letter to Goethe, 1810

Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy, it is the wine of a new procreation, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for men and makes them drunk with the spirit.
-- Ludwig van Beethoven, quoted in Marion M Scott, Beethoven (1934)
"Every day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time; therefore never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."




"God is immaterial, and for this reason transcends every conception. Since He is invisible He can have no form. But from what we observe in His work we may conclude that He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent."


"I am not in the habit of rewriting my compositions. I never did it because I am profoundly convinced that every change of detail changes the character of the whole."


"I have always counted myself amongst the greatest admirers of Mozart and shall remain so until my last breath"