Mieczysław Horszowski
Polish-born pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski performed his last recital at age 99, slightly more than a year before his death in 1993. Although his recording career only goes back to 1936, the traditions of playing he represented are much older than that, dating back to the early Romantic era. He was taught to play the piano by his mother, a student of one of Chopin's students, and his main teacher, Theodor Leschetizky, was a protégé of Czerny. Horszowski was playing (and transposing) Bach inventions at age five; at eight he was presented to the public as a prodigy, and at ten he began his formal career. He played for Fauré and perhaps Saint-Saëns in 1905 and made his U.S. debut, at Carnegie Hall, the following year. It was also during 1906 that he met the youthful Pablo Casals and Arturo Toscanini, who became lifelong friends and collaborators. Horszowski was especially noted as a chamber music pianist and became a fixture of Casals' Prades Festival for many years.
Interrupting his high-flying career to pursue a humanities degree at the Sorbonne in Paris from 1911 to 1913, Horszowski moved to Milan during the war and remained there until 1939, touring internationally. As World War II broke out he was appearing in Brazil, and instead of returning to Europe he headed for the U.S., where he remained for the rest of his life. Horszowski quickly found performing opportunities with Toscanini's NBC Symphony, and he began teaching at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute in 1942. He was a fixture of New York's recital scene, performing complete cycles of Beethoven's piano works and Mozart sonatas and concertos, and he appeared at the White House in 1961 and 1978. Horszowski was the first person to record while playing the first known piano constructed, an instrument built in 1720 by Bartolomeo Cristofori and housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In 1981, at age 89, Horszowski married for the first time; his wife was Italian pianist Beatrice Costa. His eyesight declined, which put an end to his concerto and chamber music performances, but he continued his solo recital career, performing from memory. At the Curtis Institute he taught an impressive roster of students, including Anton Kuerti, Murray Perahia, and Richard Goode. Horszowski played a range of music but focused on Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin, and even in his last years he essayed difficult works like Beethoven's Diabelli Variations.
© TiVo
Similar artists
-
Le Clavier bien tempéré, livre 1
Klassiek - Released by Vanguard on 26 aug. 2003
Diapason d'or16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Copland Premieres: Concerto for Clarinet & String Orchestra, Sextet for String Qt, Clarinet & Piano, Qt. for Piano & Strings
Benny Goodman, Mieczysław Horszowski, David Oppenheim
Klassiek - Released by Soundmark on 30 sep. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, Chopin, Schumann
Klassiek - Released by Nonesuch on 1 jan. 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert: The Last String Quartets Nos. 12-15, Piano Quintet "The Trout"
The Budapest String Quartet, Mieczysław Horszowski, Julius Levine
Kamermuziek - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 jun. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Trios No. 3 & No. 7 "Archduke"
Sándor Végh, Pablo Casals, Mieczysław Horszowski
Kamermuziek - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 jan. 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Casals Hall 1987 - Complete & Un-edited: December 9 Recital
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 2 aug. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at Casals Hall 1987 - Complete & Un-edited: December 11 Recital
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 2 aug. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Horn Trio, Op. 40 - Schumann: Piano Quartet, Op. 47 (Mono Version)
The New York Quartet, Mason Jones, Mieczysław Horszowski
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Fantasia In D Minor, K.397 / Chopin: Two Nocturnes / Debussy: Children's Corner / Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 2 In A Major, Op. 2, No. 2
Klassiek - Released by Nonesuch on 22 nov. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Trio No. 2, Op. 100 (Mono Version)
Pablo Casals, Alexander Schneider, Mieczysław Horszowski
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach : English Suite No.5 - Chopin : Two Nocturnes - Beethoven : Sonata Op.10/2
Piano solo - Released by Nonesuch on 1 jan. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mieczysław Horszowski in Poland
Mieczysław Horszowski, Jan Krenz, Wielka Orkiestra Polskiego Radia w Katowicach
Klassiek - Released by Polskie Radio on 11 okt. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven: String Quintet, Op. 29, Piano Quartet, Op. 16, Grosse Fuge, Op. 133
The Budapest String Quartet, Mieczysław Horszowski, Walter Trampler
Kamermuziek - Released by Praga Digitals on 1 jun. 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wigmore Hall Live - Works By Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, And Chopin
Klassiek - Released by Wigmore Hall Live on 1 jan. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1
Klassiek - Released by Menuetto Classics on 26 aug. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Cello Sonata No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 5 No. 2; Cello Sonata No. 5 in D Major, Op. 102 No. 2 (Pablo Casals – The Philips Legacy, Vol. 1)
Pablo Casals, Mieczysław Horszowski
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: French Suite No. 6 In E Major / Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2 / Chopin: Two Preludes, Mazurka
Klassiek - Released by Nonesuch on 1 jan. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: The Well Tempered Clavier, Book I: 24 Preludes & Fugues
Klassiek - Released by Pro Arte Records on 26 aug. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin sonatas
Joseph Szigeti, Mieczysław Horszowski
Kamermuziek - Released by Classical Moments on 18 mrt. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Le clavier bien tempéré, livre I
Klassiek - Released by Vanguard on 26 aug. 2003
Diapason d'or16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Trio No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 97 'Archduke' (Pablo Casals – The Philips Legacy, Vol. 3)
Sándor Végh, Mieczysław Horszowski, Pablo Casals
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 1 jan. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo