“Perfection itself is imperfection.” - Pianist Vladimir Horowitz
We have counted up to #30 in our survey of the top 50 classical recordings of all-time. Number 30 in our count is Vladimir Horowitz - The Complete Original Jacket Collection issued in 2009. Once again I am cheating in my definition of “recording”, since this collection is actually 70 discs of piano music recorded by the inimitable great Vladimir Horowitz recorded for RCA, Columbia Masterworks, and Sony Classical between 1929 - 1989. Indeed, this collection includes many, many recordings that as a whole add up to a monumental achievement in the history of classical music.
Vladimir Horowitz is widely regarded as the one of the greatest pianists of all-time, and in my humble opinion he is in fact the greatest (BBC Music Magazine disagrees with me, and ranks him 3rd behind Sergei Rachmaninov and Arthur Rubinstein).
Vladimir Horowitz
The pianist Vladimir Horowitz was born in 1903 in Kiev in what was then Russia, and died in 1989 in New York, NY. His mother was a professional pianist, and Vladimir’s first teacher. She recognized his prodigious talent, and he was sent for studies at the Kiev Conservatory. He gave his first public recital in Kiev at the age of 16, and soon he was touring Russia giving recitals in Kiev, Kharkov, Moscow, and Leningrad. Due to the Russian revolution, he was often paid in food and clothing. This began an extraordinary performing career that led to spectacular success.
In 1926, Horowitz traveled to Berlin to perform and soon after gave recitals in Paris, London, and New York. After making further appearances in New York where he was well-received, Horowitz made the United States his adopted home. In 1931 he played at the White House for President Hoover. In 1940, he settled permanently in the United States, and became a citizen in 1944.
In 1931, Horowitz married Wanda Toscanini, daughter of legendary Italian-American conductor Arturo Toscanini. Horowitz would later work collaboratively with Toscanini on performances of the Beethoven piano concertos. Toscanini admired Horowitz, but if there were any artistic disagreements the pianist would always defer to the elder maestro. On April 25, 1943, they performed Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto with the NBC Symphony Orchestra as part of an all-Tchaikovsky concert at Carnegie Hall. Tickets to the concert were only available by purchasing war bonds to help pay for the United States' participation in World War II. Neither Horowitz nor Toscanini accepted a fee for their services. The event raised $11 million for the war effort.
Horowitz was a nervous and sensitive man by nature, and was often plagued by irrational insecurities. Being often fragile in physical and emotional health, Horowitz could be a very difficult person to deal with on a personal level. Performing on stage and touring took a tremendous toll on the pianist, leading to periodic withdrawals from public recitals. In fact, it is well documented how Horowitz retreated from performing for several long stretches during his career, only to then make a huge splash by returning to performing with historic concerts complete with rapturous fans and audiences. He did not perform in public too often after 1970, but when he did it was always big news. When he did schedule a concert, it often took pleading by his wife and friends to convince him to take the stage, even at the last minute. Although this extreme stage anxiety persisted throughout his life, it would be far less when he was performing chamber music accompanying other artists. He would collaborate with such musicians as baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, and violinist Isaac Stern.
Wanda Toscanini would become an extremely important stabilizing presence in Horowitz’s life, and she was undoubtedly devoted to him. Even though she was Roman Catholic, and he was Jewish, neither were religiously observant. They did have one child, a daughter Sonia Toscanini Horowitz. But the marriage also served to hide Horowitz’s well-known homosexuality. While Horowitz always denied that he was homosexual, it was clear that he was attracted to men throughout his life. It is well documented that Horowitz had several long-term relationships and liaisons with men. In the 1940s, Horowitz began seeing a psychiatrist in what turned out to be a futile effort to change his sexual orientation. It is thought that the persistence of his homosexuality led him into deep states of depression at several points in his life. In the 1960s and 1970s, he turned to electroshock therapy to alleviate his depression. Some listeners have theorized that Horowitz sublimated his sexuality to the point that it was revealed in his playing.
One of the most significant events in Horowitz’s professional career include his return to public performance for a series of concerts in 1965 at Carnegie Hall in New York after an absence of 12 years. Another was his long delayed return to the Soviet Union for a series of concerts in 1986, his first appearance there since the 1920s. His return was seen as having political importance as well, at a time of increased cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union. A recording was made by Deutsche Grammophon to commemorate his return titled Horowitz in Moscow, which became a huge best-seller. The subsequent tour was a big event, and it led to Horowitz signing a new record deal at the end with Sony Classical. He made his last recording on November 1st, 1989, and died just four days later on November 5th.
As a performer, Horowitz had significant resources of talent in speed, power, and articulation. His performances were brilliant, charismatic, and exciting. Although he had his critics to be sure, including those that thought his playing was self-indulgent, too dramatic, with too many extremes of loud and soft, and perhaps getting lost in the details at the expense of the larger musical picture, I find the criticisms of Horowitz to be overly academic and snobbish. While he certainly had a flair for show, had strong opinions about style and technique, and could take liberties with scores and even changed some pieces, there simply is no other pianist that moves listeners as does Horowitz. Moreover, many of the world’s greatest pianists praise Horowitz including Martha Argerich, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini, and Freidrich Gulda, with Gulda calling Horowitz “the over-God of the piano”.
Horowitz generated a great deal of color in his playing, as well as dynamic changes. Because he was able to play extremely fast passages incredibly well, and he enjoyed playing composers that highlighted this virtuosity, he gained a reputation as a showman. His pinpoint accuracy became something of legend. But Horowitz was much deeper than that too, and at heart he was a Romantic. He was most well known for his interpretations of Romantic composers such as Chopin, Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, and Schumann. In my opinion his recordings of Beethoven, Mozart, and other classical era composers are less distinguished, but still very fine. Horowitz was a huge advocate for the keyboard music of neglected composers such as Domenico Scarlatti and Muzio Clementi. His recordings of Scarlatti and Clementi sonatas are widely considered to be the best on record.
When Horowitz was young, his goal was to be a composer. This also explains to some degree his tinkering with scores that he felt were not “pianistic” enough. More contemporary composers such as Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Poulenc actually praised Horowitz for some of the changes he made in their scores. He made significant changes in Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition for piano arguing that Mussorgsky was not a pianist and that it could be improved. Horowitz’s playing is often characterized by the ability to play loudly without sounding too harsh, then being able to play with extreme delicacy with true piannisimos the next moment. Whether it was what in line with what the composer intended was not the point, but rather Horowitz’s vision of how the piece should be played to best effect. I happen to enjoy this approach, but others may not.
In the 1970s and especially into the 1980s, Horowitz took antidepressants with a healthy dose of alcohol. His depression was debilitating, and he often became a sort of recluse. His wife Wanda stayed with him throughout it all, shepherding him through some very difficult periods. In 1985, Horowitz stopped drinking and taking medications, and returned to playing in a “post-retirement” phase that lasted until his death in 1989. This was when his return to the Soviet Union happened, and he made several other recordings for Deutsche Grammophon during this period. Although his playing had declined from his prime, Horowitz selected pieces carefully and was able to compensate for lost agility and motor skills with an increase in coloration and finesse. Despite his age, his playing was still remarkable.
Horowitz won 25 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990. He was also inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Recording
As I mentioned, the Vladimir Horowitz - Complete Original Jacket Collection is actually many different recordings spanning an incredible length of time. Nearly 30 years ago, I heard Horowitz on the radio and found a used CD called Horowitz Recital from Columbia Masterworks which I fell in love with:
It included some very memorable pieces by Scarlatti, Schumann, and Schubert. But Horowitz’s discography is huge, and over the years I became acquainted with many other recordings, including his iconic recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 3, a piece I love.
There are so many recordings by Horowitz that I love and treasure, I began looking for a compilation that included them all (or most). The Original Jacket series comes the closest to including the greatest number of indispensable recordings by Horowitz. It includes all of his recordings with RCA Victor, Columbia Masterworks, and Sony Classical. It does not include his recordings with RCA Europe (HMV) or Deutsche Grammophon, although those represent a smaller portion of his overall discography. To add some confusion, there have been several editions of Original Jacket collections dedicated to Horowitz as Sony Classical eventually took over RCA etc. The latest iteration is the largest and most complete collection. If you buy the CDs, it is a very expensive investment, my last check on Amazon puts it at around $600 USD. Fortunately you can find the Original Jacket Collections of Horowitz in piecemeal formats on streaming services such as Spotify and IDAGIO and perhaps others.
Some highlights that ARE included in this collection:
Horowitz Live at Carnegie Hall, his historic return concerts from 1965, 1966, and 1968. Horowitz is received almost like a rock star. The 1968 concert was broadcast coast-to-coast on CBS television, Horowitz’s first concert on TV. One of the favorite CD sets I’ve ever owned, Horowitz is really at the peak of his abilities. A few of my favorite tracks:
Schumann Fantasy in C major, Op. 17
Chopin Ballade no. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 (a Horowitz specialty, he plays it in both the 1965 and 1968 concerts)
Schumann Traumerei from Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) (another Horowitz specialty, again he plays in both the 1965 and 1968 concerts)
Mozart’s Sonata no. 11 in A major with the famous Rondo alla Turca third movement, which brings down the house.
Liszt Vallee d’Obermann from Annees de Pelerinage: Suisse
Horowitz’s own composition Variations on a Theme from Bizet’s Carmen
The celebrated Scarlatti sonatas are included, itself a desert island recording for many. But importantly for me, the collection also includes the additonal Scarlatti sonatas I loved from that first Horowitz Recital disc I found so many years ago.
The collection includes the famous recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto no. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 from 1943 with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Also included is one of the greatest accounts of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minior, Op. 30 with Fritz Reiner and the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, as well as a slightly less celebrated but with better sound live account of the same concerto with the New York Philharmonic led by Eugene Ormandy from 1978. Another famous concerto recording is also included, the 1952 recording of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no. 5 “Emperor” with Fritz Reiner and the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra.
Other important highlights of the collection include:
Horowitz’s renditions of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
Horowitz’s famous arrangement of Sousa’s The Stars and Stripes Forever.
The finest versions of Scriabin’s piano works ever recorded.
Live recordings of Horowitz recitals in New York, London, on various tours, Jubilee anniversary concerts at Carnegie Hall, and the entire Concert of the Century in honor of Carnegie Hall’s 85th birthday (with other artists).
Recordings of the young Horowitz, mostly in decent sound, showing dazzling examples of the energy and passion characteristic of Horowitz.
Multiple recordings of Horowitz’s favorite pieces from Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Scriabin, Schumann (including several versions of the complete Kinderszenen, which he played better than anyone) Clementi, and Scarlatti.
Previously unreleased recital material from 1951 and 1967.
If this were your only collection of piano music, you would be well served. Of course there are famous pieces Horowitz never recorded, but he did record quite a lot and much of it at a very high quality in good sound for the time periods.
Although a flawed and complex person, Horowitz left us so much to admire and enjoy. What he gave us was a humanity and artistic vision that encompasses so much of what music should be. He showed that strength and tenderness can exist side by side, and that passion is part of what makes for great art. I am not always in the mood for piano music, particularly solo piano, but when I am, I always return to Horowitz.
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Notes:
Brennan, Gerald. Schrott, Allen. Woodstra, Chris. All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide. All Media Guide. Vladimir Horowitz. Pg. 623. Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Vladimir_Horowitz
Horowitz interview with Charles Kuralt, CBS News Sunday Morning.
Plaskin, Glenn (1983). Biography of Vladimir Horowitz Quill ISBN 0-688-02656-7 p. 215 "In December 1940, Horowitz had begun psychoanalysis with an eminent psychiatrist, Dr. Lawrence Kubie, a strict Freudian who was attempting to exorcise the homosexual element from Horowitz."
Schonberg, Harold C. (April 22, 1990). "Recordings; Horowitz's Parting Gift: Charming Novelties". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
https://www.classical-music.com/features/artists/20-greatest-pianists-all-time/
"Vladimir Horowitz (pianist)". Gramophone. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzio_Clementi
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Horowitz_%E2%80%93_The_Complete_Original_Jacket_Collection