HOROWITZ, VLADIMIR

HOROWITZ, VLADIMIR (1904–1989), pianist. He studied the piano in Kiev, his birthplace, and first attracted public attention in Russia in 1921. His subsequent success was sensational and was repeated when he started touring European capitals in 1925. He went to the United States on contract in 1928 and decided to remain there. He gave numerous recitals, which stopped temporarily in 1936. It was thought that, highly self-critical, he had become dissatisfied with the frequency of his appearances. He resumed his concerts in 1939 but on a greatly reduced schedule. In 1953 he retired from the platform again and reappeared only in 1965. He however continued to make occasional recordings. Horowitz's relationship with the conductor Toscanini, whose daughter Wanda he married in 1933, probably changed his musical outlook. After 1939 his musical understanding appeared to have grown, adding depth to his technical brilliance, and he was considered not only a great virtuoso performer but also a profound musician. (Uri (Erich) Toeplitz) In 1978 Horovitz celebrated the 50th anniversary of his American debut on Jan. 12, 1928. On Jan. 8 he played the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto under the baton of Eugene Ormandy at Carnegie Hall in New York City and a message was read from President Carter congratulating him on "50 years of remarkable service to the performing arts in the United States." On Feb. 26 he played for President Carter and an invited audience at the White House. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Baker's Biog Dict; Riemann-Gurlitt; Grove's Dict.