Biography        

 

1920 | 1926 | 1933 | 1940 | 1953 | 1978 | 1983 | 1986 | 1989

    1920

Legendary American pianist. Born to a cultured Russian-Jewish family on October 1, 1903, he received his first music instruction from his mother, a professional pianist who later taught at the Kiev Conservatory. He made his public debut as a pianist at the age of 17 in a recital in Kiev (May 30, 1920), the first in what was to become one of the century's greatest musical careers.

    1926

The aftermath of the Russian revolution persuaded Horowitz that his destiny lay outside his mother country, so he set out for the West in 1925; his first concert there was on January 2, 1926 in Berlin. After arriving in Paris in January 1928 he had a few piano lessons with Alfred Cortot then crossed the Atlantic and on the 12th served as soloist in the Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto with the New York Philharmonic under Sir Thomas Beecham.

    1933

Thereafter he performed with other American orchestras and quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso of the highest order. He performed for President Hoover at the White House in 1931, and in 1933 married Wanda Toscanini, daughter of Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini. He became a U.S. citizen in 1942.

    1940

The 1930s and 1940s were for Horowitz his first great period of music making. With a strong affinity for Russian music, he excelled in the music of Rachmaninoff and became close friends with the also-expatriate composer, who regarded Horowitz as the 20th Century's greatest pianist. Despite his peerless playing he suffered frequent bouts of psychological stress and irrational fears of failure. His wife was valuable in calming many of his anxieties and shock therapy applied in 1973 also seemed to help.

    1953

Horowitz traveled at a whirlwind pace until 1953 when, after a New York recital of February 25, 1953 in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his American debut, he abruptly retired from the concert stage, from which he remained for 12 years. He was not inactive during this period, but gave kept his skills honed through lessons given to a small group of select pupils and numerous recordings made for Columbia Records in the company's New York studios. He returned to the stage on May 9, 1965 to an overflow Carnegie Hall audience and ecstatic reviews by the international press.

    1978

An avid chamber music player as well as soloist, Horowitz found time for live and recorded performances of some of the best chamber works in the repertoire; among his collaborators were baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Mitislav Rostropovich, and Isaac Stern. On February 26, 1978 he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his American debut in a performance for President Carter at the White House, and four years later, at the request of Prince Charles of Great Britain, returned to Europe after a 31-year absence for a recital in London's Royal Festival Hall.

    1983

Some of his most avid fans were Japanese who had become acquainted with Horowitz's playing through recordings. In response to repeated invitations to perform there, in June 1983 he appeared in a series of concerts in Tokyo and other Japanese cities, to unprecedented acclaim for a Western artist.

    1986

Horowitz regarded the apex of his career, however, to have been his return to Russia. Accompanied by his wife, his personal piano tuner, and his cook -- as well as his own Steinway grand in the 747's cargo hold -- Horowitz reunited with his homeland in 1986 for a series of recitals in Moscow. He prefaced his performances with brief words in Russian, and played Scarlatti, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Schumann and Moszkovski before teary-eyed audiences of young and old, most of whom knew him only by legend since his departure 61 years before.

    1989

His Russian trip filled Horowitz with new energy, for upon returning to New York he resumed his performing and recording career with greater gusto than before. In 1986 he received the U.S. Medal of Freedom from President Reagan and in 1989 was awarded the National Medal of Arts. On November 1 of that year he made his last recording in New York; four days later he died of a heart attack. His death prompted a worldwide outpouring of grief and praise. His body lay in state in New York then, flown by his wife to Italy, was interred in the Toscanini family plot in Milan.