The Russian and American classical virtuoso pianist Vladimir Horowitz[1] was a recording artist for over 60 years; beginning in 1926 on a piano roll system for Welte-Mignon, then with audio recordings, starting in 1928 for the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor.[2] Horowitz continued to record for a variety of record labels throughout his life. Between 1962 and 1973 he recorded for Columbia Masterworks[3] In 1975, Horowitz returned to RCA,[4] with which he recorded a series of live recitals. For the last years of his life, between 1985 and 1989, Horowitz recorded for Deutsche Grammophon.[5] Horowitz's final recording, with Sony Classical, was completed in November 1989, four days before his death.[6] This final recording consisted of repertoire that he had never previously recorded.[7]His discography contains numerous albums and compilations of works by a variety of composers. Horowitz has also appeared in several video items, most of these were produced in the later years of his life.[8]
Overview
Horowitz's first recordings were made in 1926, on piano rolls at the Welte-Mignon studios in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He also recorded piano rolls for Aeolian. His first audio recordings were made in the United States during 1928 for the Victor Talking Machine Company,[2] Because of a reduction of recording activities due to the economic impact of the Great Depression, RCA Victor agreed to allow its recording artists' European-produced recordings to be made by HMV, RCA Victor's London-based affiliate. Horowitz's first European recording, in 1930, was of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Albert Coates and the London Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere recording of that piece. Through 1936, Horowitz continued to make recordings for HMV of solo piano repertoire, including his 1932 account of Liszt's Sonata in B minor.[5] Beginning in 1940, Horowitz's recording activity was again concentrated in the U.S. That year, he recorded Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, and in 1941, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, both with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under Arturo Toscanini. With the creation of the LP in the late 1940s, many of his older recordings were reissued in the new format and some items received multiple issues. 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 two of Beethoven's piano sonatas.
In 1962, Horowitz embarked on a series of highly acclaimed recordings for Columbia Masterworks,[3] which was later renamed to Sony Classical after the label was purchased by Sony in 1990. The most famous among them 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.[9] Horowitz also continued to make studio recordings, including a 1969 recording of Kreisleriana by Robert Schumann, which was awarded the Prix Mondial du Disque. All of Horowitz's Columbia recordings were released as a 13-CD set by Sony Masterworks in 1993.[10] In 1975, Horowitz returned to RCA,[4] releasing a series of live recordings until 1982. During this period, Columbia also repackaged their Horowitz recordings with reissues including the named Beethoven Sonatas and multiple-LP sets of Chopin. In 1985, Horowitz signed with Deutsche Grammophon, and made both studio and live recordings until 1989, including his only recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23.[5] Four filmed documents were made during this time,[8] 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.[7]
With the advent of the compact disc, the various labels for which Horowitz recorded began reissuing his pre-digital recordings. This began in the mid-1980s and increased in the years immediately following Horowitz's death. Beginning in 1987, Columbia issued single-composer compilations drawn from various albums. RCA Victor issued many of Horowitz's recordings on their Gold Seal mid-priced label. By 1993, both Columbia's and RCA's entire cache of previously issued recordings was available on CD, including several older items which had never appeared on LP. A number of items were issued more than once, including the 1978 recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 which was issued on CD in 1987, again in 1993, with a new cover, and in a new remastering in 2000. Over the past two decades, several previously unavailable Horowitz recordings have been issued. These include studio and live recordings from the Columbia era, and a collection from Carnegie Hall recitals between 1945 and 1951 which were recorded privately by Horowitz.[11] In addition, several smaller labels have issued CDs made from bootleg recordings from the 1960s onward and several of Horowitz's stereo recordings have been issued in the blu-spec and SHM-CD (Super High Material) formats.
The listing below only contains Compact Disc releases and does not contain 78rpm, LP, Cassette, or 8-track tape releases. The videography includes items which have been released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD.
Albums
| Year of issue | Album details | Recording date(s) | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Horowitz At the Met[12]
| November 1981 | RCA Red Seal Records |
| 1983 | Horowitz in London[13] | May 1982 | RCA Red Seal Records |
| 1985 | Vladimir Horowitz – The Last Romantic[14]
| April 1985 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1986 | The Studio Recordings, New York 1985[15]
| September – October 1985 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1986 | Horowitz in Moscow[16]
| April 1986 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1987 | Horowitz Plays Mozart[17]
| March 1987 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1987 | Horowitz Plays Liszt[18]
| 1950–1981 | RCA Red Seal Records |
| 1989 | Horowitz At Home[19]
| 1986–1989 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1989 | Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff[20] | 1951–1980 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1989 | Horowitz Plays Clementi[21]
| 1954 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1989 | Horowitz Plays Scriabin[22]
| 1953–1982 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1989 | Horowitz Plays Schumann[23]
| 1976–1980 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1989 | Horowitz In Concert 1967–1968[24]
| 1967–1968 | CBS Masterworks |
| 1989 | Mozart: Piano Sonatas[25]
| 1980–1988 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1990 | Horowitz Plays Brahms & Beethoven[26] | 1946–1951 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1990 | Horowitz Plays Prokofiev, Barber & Kabalevsky Sonatas[27]
| 1945–1977 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1990 | Horowitz Plays Beethoven Sonatas[28] | 1956–1959 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1990 | Horowitz Plays Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven: Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"[29] | 1943, 1951 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1990 | Horowitz – The Last Recording[30]
| October & November, 1989 | Sony Classical |
| 1990 | Horowitz Plays Chopin, Vol. 1[31] | 1945–1982 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1990 | Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition and Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1[32]
| 1941, 1951 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1991 | Horowitz The Poet[33] | 1986, 1987 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1991 | Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2[34]
| 1940–1953 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1991 | Horowitz Plays Chopin, Vol. 2[35]
| 1947–1957 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1991 | Schubert: Sonata in B-flat and Mozart: Sonata in F[36]
| 1946–1953 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1992 | Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition[37]
| 1928–1979 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1992 | Schumann: Kinderszenen, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy[38]
| 1928–1977 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1992 | Discovered Treasures[39]
| 1963–1972 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | Rachmaninoff: Concerto No. 3[40] New York Philharmonic / Eugene Ormandy, Conductor | January 1978 | RCA Red Seal |
| 1993 | Horowitz Plays Chopin, Vol. 3[41]
| 1945–1957 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1993 | Horowitz Plays Beethoven, Scarlatti, Chopin[42]
| 1928–1959 | RCA Gold Seal |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 1: The Studio Recordings 1962–1963[43]
| 1962–1963 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 2: The Celebrated Scarlatti Recordings[44]
| 1964 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 3: The Historic Return[45]
| 1965–1966 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 4: The Legendary 1968 TV Concert[46]
| 1968 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 5: A Baroque & Classical Recital[47]
| 1963–1972 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 6: Beethoven[48] | 1972–1973 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 7: Early Romantics[49]
| 1968–1971 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 8: The Romantic & Impressionist Era[50]
| 1962–1973 | Sony Classical |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, Vol. 9: Late Russian Romantics[51]
| 1967–1972 | Sony Classical |
| 1994 | The Private Collection Vol. 1[52]
| 1945–1950 | RCA Red Seal |
| 1995 | The Private Collection Vol. 2[53]
| 1945–1949 | RCA Red Seal |
| 1997 | Vladimir Horowitz, Solo Recordings 1928–1936[54]
| 1930–1936 | Pearl |
| 1999 | Beethoven Sonatas | 1959 | RCA Red Seal |
| 2001 | Chopin: Piano Music[55]
| 1957–1982 | RCA Red Seal |
| 2003 | The Boston Recital[56]
| October 1969 | Living Stage |
| 2003 | Horowitz reDiscovered[57]
| November 16, 1975 | RCA Red Seal |
| 2003 | Horowitz Live and Unedited – The Historic 1965 Carnegie Hall Return Concert[58]
| 1962–1965 | Sony Masterworks |
| 2008 | Horowitz in Hamburg – The Last Concert[59]
| July 21, 1987 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 2009 | Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall – The Private Collection: Mussorgsky & Liszt[60]
| 1948, 1949 | Sony Classical |
| 2009 | Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall – The Private Collection: Schumann, Chopin, Liszt & Balakirev[61]
| 1946–1950 | Sony Classical |
| 2009 | The Welte Mignon Mystery Vol. XI – Vladimir Horowitz today playing all his 1926 interpretations.[62]
| 1926/2009 | Tacet |
| 2010 | Vladimir Horowitz At Carnegie Hall – The Private Collection: Haydn & Beethoven[63]
| 1945–1948 | Sony Classical |
| 2010 | Horowitz – The Legendary Berlin Concert[64]
| May 18, 1986 | Sony Classical |
Compilations
Boxed sets
| Year of issue | Album details | Recording year(s) | Record label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Recordings 1930–1951 [76]
| 1930–1951 | EMI |
| 1993 | The Complete Masterworks Recordings, 1962–1973 [10]
| 1962–1973 | Sony Classical |
| 2001 | The Original Jacket Collection [77]
| 1962–1972 | Sony Classical |
| 2003 | Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon [78]
| 1985–1989 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 2009 | The Complete Original Jacket Collection [79]
| 1928–1989 | Sony Classical |
| 2010 | Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon [80]
| 1985–1989 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 2013 | Live at Carnegie Hall [81]
| 1943–1978 | Sony Classical |
| 2015 | The Unreleased Live Recordings [82]
| 1966–1983 | Sony Classical |
Video releases
Horowitz's first appearance on television was a one-hour recital for the CBS television network in 1968.[9] The pianist also performed at the White House in 1978, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of his American debut with an all-Chopin recital from the East Room.[83] Although never officially released on home video, copies of the recital are available from the Jimmy Carter Library. Horowitz's debut in Japan, in 1983, was broadcast on Japanese public television.[84] The pianist was under the influence of anti-depressant medication, which severely impaired his playing and led to a withdrawal from performance until 1985. Although clips of the recital have appeared on the internet, no material from this time period has been seen on any documentaries. In addition, Horowitz can be seen on various news shows including a 1977 60 Minutes story.[85]
| Year of issue | Details | Recording date(s) | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Vladimir Horowitz – A Television Concert at Carnegie Hall
| January 2, February 1, 1968 | Sony |
| 1982 | Horowitz in London[86] | May 22, 1982 | Sony |
| 1986 | Vladimir Horowitz – The Last Romantic[87]
| April 1985 | Pioneer |
| 1986 | Horowitz in Moscow[88]
| April 20, 1986 | Pioneer / Sony |
| 1988 | Horowitz Plays Mozart[89]
| March 1987 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1991 | Horowitz in Vienna[90]
| May 31, 1987 | Deutsche Grammophon |
| 1993 | Vladimir Horowitz – A Reminiscence[91]
| N/A | Sony Classical / Kultur |
| 1995 | Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3
| September 24, 1978 | Deutsche Grammophon |
References
- General
- "Vladimir Horowitz Discography". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-02-09.[dead link]
- "Vladimir Horowitz > Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- Specific