Horowitz-Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever Transcription

[MrCleverest]

this is gorgeous. But Sousa would have a heart attack.

[ireneobien1954]

Maestro Horowitz had an interview with Morley Safer on 60 Minutes years ago. I believe it was in the early 70's. Near the end of the interview, Morley asked him to play Stars and Stripes. The last time he played it was on VJ Day 1945 and he was able to play it error-free 30 years later. Such a genius! For DynastyEmpire, Maestro Horowitz had a "finger span" of 12 inches (from little finger when fully spread to his thumb).

[Engrmat32]

@ireneobien1954 Horowitz must have temporarily forgotten that he played Stars and Stripes Forever for a concert that I attended at the Civic Auditorium in Denver, Colorado in 1951 while I was attending the University of Colorado in Boulder. It was my first introduction to Horowitz and I have been a fan (and amature pianist) ever since.

[1975howardgoldman]

@ireneobien1954 It was actually Mike Wallace, he described it vividly in his book "Between you and Me", the book comes with aDVD that shows the interview with him and his wife.

[DynastyEmpire]

He plays like he had 5 hands lol

[nyentity]

Does anybody have a later recording of Horowitz playing this piece I heard a bit more Up Tempo, Magnificant!

[LoudCitizen]

So astonishing, this arrangement! When the piccolos come in, you would swear it's written for four hands -- how do only two hands manage to play this?! Boo-yah!

[cinemasolo]

@LoudCitizen I've always wished I could have seen him play this (or the Carmen transcription) to figure out how he articulated those parts.

[Teuora]

Bon, vous commencer à casser les pieds à écrire en anglais. Ecrire en anglais sous une telle vidéo est une faute de goût.

[Canaveral305]

@Teuora J'aimerais bien que tu m'explique en quoi parler anglais sur une vidéo d'un pianiste (russe, certes) qui interprète sans doute le morceau le plus Amerloque qui n'ai jamais été est une faute de goût.

[Dwaynethesock]

stan by eminem

[iansquared3]

i like how it is kinda dirty

[WPGS25041941]

John Philip Sousa facetiously " Son of [the] USA" composed music to make you get up an go. ideal music for "couch potatoes" . I loved to play this music on organ rather than listen.

[1kkyu]

Very inspiring!

[chaase17]

It doesn't get any better !!!

[mwang166]

Go Horowitz!

[kasyapa]

notice how the modern-day producers introduced a false climax at the end by putting up the volume then cranking up the treble?

[AmericanCars101]

Thumbs up my comment if you would have liked to have seen horowitz perform this on video!

[SheridanJazz]

This is a live recording from a Carnegie Hall recital, 1951. The only words fitting are "mind boggling".

[nautaas]

This is VERY well done. As for the criticism that it deviates from the original, I say that, when one is called upon to mke a piano sound like a big brass band, a certain leeway may be allowed. Our great contemporary duo teams should transcribe this for four hands. I think it could be even greater than the great thing that the maestro has here achieved.

[NotAgain90]

Hurray for the Red, White and Blue!

And Three Cheers for Mr. Horowitz, the great American pianist and musician. Like many, he may have been born elsewhere but he thought himself an American. Happy 4th!

[BorisCr]

I think Mr. Horowitz had more finger then the the ten I was bor with! Amazing Musician!

[F0nkyNinja]

He's good on that suble rubato, that guy.

[Tokkemon]

Eh. Not my favorite. The arrangement deviates from the original too much.

[Kapomafioso]

1:33 very cute photo ^^

[DavidKerrATL]

Horowitz.

[seamonkeyfan90]

THAT"S HOROWITZ????!! I, I thought he would be older... (in photos)

[DavidKerrATL]

Yes, that is indeed Horowitz, obviously when he was a younger man. I don't know how old he was when this recording was made.

[phillippatterson1]

@DavidKerrATL This maybe the recording close to Victory in Europe. German surrender May 1945.?

[MrRicksStudio]

@DavidKerrATL I believe it was 1950. I have a copy of the 78, and after purchasing it, I looked the info up. It would have been one of his last records to be made available as a 78.

[Kapomafioso]

@seamonkeyfan90

:D:D everyone is once young ;);)

[seamonkeyfan90]

your right thank you

[seamonkeyfan90]

AWESOME! but the guy in the picture is ghastly some how

[goldenthroat86]

It goes without saying that his sexual orientation was irrelevant...A great musician is a great musician.

[Blopartyhut]

I wish he were still alive so that he could write kick-ass transcriptions of Mary had a Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. And these kids would be all like (o_0)

[nb971127]

woah, whats with all the thumbs down!?

[samorocks96]

lol its so funny the way people start getting so serious about things that don't concern them, and won't even effect their lives, as well as starting to talk about stuff that has nothing to with the music

[piuotre]

impressive!!

[guynamedm1ke]

Yo, this was written by a good american composer, and interprerted and played by the greatest russian pianist that ever lived. The result, an amazing piece which transcends nationality, and politics. So for at least 3 minutes and 50 seconds, forget the politics and just enjoy the music.

[godXofXpath]

@guynamedm1ke While from Russia originally, Valdimir Horowitz actually became an american citizen and lived in America most of his life. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a more patriotic pianist than he. Kudos to 3 minutes, 50 seconds of pure music, regardless.

[CrunchHardtack69]

Amazing! You all are smacking one another around with nationalistic diatribe. Music transends that. Shut up, listen and enjoy.

[The55555SSSSS]

you are nothing but wild animals.

you trader.i hate you.and every one like you.

americans are shits

[r4a2m0o]

I think he meant that his hands sometimes operate outside the control of his mind, which I would agree with. Although at 1:52 I think he accelerated on purpose not that his hands were getting away from him. He's a master and he played this song many times.

[ConteSakurai]

Let me guess, are you American?

Tipically chauvinistic...

Your flag has committed the worst crimes in central and southern America, so I don't know the reason of all this pride.

[c5x2c]

This is by far the most difficult and demanding 4 minutes of piano ever! And no one can do it as well as Vladimir.

[SeanFitandSmart]

The most chilling part is at 1:52, when his hands actually get away from him, and he loses control of them briefly. The tempo and rhythm are briefly affected, but you can hear how the hands are really uncontrollable.

[FlugelWanderer]

Horowitz's hands uncontrollable? You must be joking.. I can assure you that everything he did, was well planned and worked hard to project his will by his hands

[bobmartin3]

Little Star's Railroad Announcement At Night! The Sunrise Stars/Stripes Forever!

[bobmartin3]

Songs From Mother Goose's Railroad Announcement/Stars/Stripes Forever!

[thenotoriousadin]

made by a jew!

[bobmartin3]

I Like The Railroad Announcement!/ The Stars/Stripes Forever!

[zazzidog]

Wow1 Vladimir the great! Leaves me breatheless!!!

The thrill of my musical experience when

i heard him perform live in Buffalo! Full audience but no crowded lines to get ticket as was the case when he played in New York City!

[jvandle]

shut the hell up about horowitz liking dudes. yeah right.

just listen to the music and stop talking about gay shit.

[486dx4iosys]

Why did someone say that was a bad comment?!??

[goldenthroat86]

Horowitz's most famous quote: "There are 3 three types of pianists: Jews, fags, and bad ones...And I'm a little bit of the first two." I agree that sexuality is irrelevant...I'm a gay classical musician myself. But it was WELL known among Horowitz's friends that he was gay.

They were VERY shocked when he married Toscanini's daughter Wanda. They saw it as a marriage of convenience.

[mime248]

rofl you sound like a retarted monkey ...ignorant piece of shit.

[WJDubs]

Your analysis is quite true and it is not a debated fact in the musical world. Most know that Horowitz was an unabashed homosexual and his marriage to Toscaninni's daughter was most unusally....aside from the fact that she was Arturo's daughter and had strong masculine features

[goldenthroat86]

When you accuse a person of misquoting someone, at least bother to respond with the "correct" quote. True, I have never met Mr H, but some old pianist queen friends of mine bumped into him in a gay bar in NYC and Horowitz used that quote.  In more mixed company , he would phrase it this way: "There are 3 types of pianists: Jewish pianists, homosexual pianists, and bad pianists."

Unless you have a better source for the quote than Horowitz himself....BLOW ME WHILE I SHIT, BITCH!

[TomBarristerX]

Horowitz wouldn't have used the word "fags" or any derivative of it to refer to homosexuals (or even cigarettes). You're more than welcome to point us to any newspaper, magazine, or other article to the contrary.

Horowitz's sexual preference was well known, and it takes nothing away from the man's abilities as a pianist.

[goldenthroat86]

The source of the comment was not from a newspaper or a magazine, but from Horowitz HIMSELF. Two gay pianist friends of mine ran into him at a gay bar in NYC years ago. They told me that he used that EXACT quote. I also have about 5 other gay musicians that bumped into him in NYC. I guess you think that a newspaper article is a better source than from Horowitz himself.

[TomBarristerX]

They're both hearsay, and you have to take the word of the source, in this case, you or your friends.

I trust my own perception. Having met the man on many occasions in the last 20 years of his life, I can tell you that he would not have used the word "fag", nor "gay" for that matter. I don't doubt that he used the word "homosexual", as Horowitz never bothered to keep it a secret that he felt that he was homosexual (in fact, he was bisexual, and he never understood that term).

[TheAspenTom]

In his generation, people reserved the use of gay slang when among friends or like-minded individuals even more than we do today. If you knew him in the bathhouses or gay bars, you would have heard a different vocabulary than as a casual acquaintance or than in public settings.

[TheAspenTom]

If, as you say, he didn't use "fag,", "gay," or "homosexual," then that'd pretty much limit his ability to refer to other gay guys. And like lots of African Americans use the "n" word amongst themselves, huge numbers of gay guys use the "f" word to refer to themselves and their friends as insiders. Insiders can do that kind of thing and do.

[TheAspenTom]

As for print vs hearsay, you have a partially valid point. But the problem with a public figure like VH, he would never utter gay slang words in the general public, in interviews, etc. or write them down -- so of course there'd be no printed record. He wouldn't even talk like that around Wanda, of course, much less reporters or on the recording or concert circuits.

[cfwpiano]

@goldenthroat86 Yeah, I don't understand why people get so offended when people say that Horowitz was gay. He was, there's no mistaking it. Arthur Rubinstein, one of his closest friends, remarked that it was like an open secret in the music circles. He only married Wanda to save face. Obviously, gay people were not treated that kindly when Horowitz was in his prime.

[Kapomafioso]

No matter, what sexual orientation the one has, it's still human being and he does not bear the blame for it, he can't change it. And he is great musician! And, quite funny, nice man!

[G33kz0r]

Definitely a misquote. I'd like to see your source for that quote of his; wikiquote has it otherwise, "There are only three kinds of pianists; Jewish pianists, homosexual pianists, and bad pianists."

[halavey]

He had a daughter with Wanda and who cares if he was Bi or not he was the greatest Pianist in the world and his sex interests mean nothing to his great artistry.

[alexjrmarino]

He maybe really was homosexual but what the heck he is still the ONE.. and a lot of the people he knew said he was gay..but maybe they were just jealous :D

[goldenthroat86]

This piece may not always SOUND difficult, but that's only because Horowitz makes it sound easy. If you were to look at the score, you'd think it would require 3 hands instead of the usual 2!

[bamaboy2526]

Same with Chopins Polonaise. Itried to play it but i had to try to stretch 2 and a half octaves. It looks impossible.

[howlinwolf08]

Mr. Horowitz was a master.

[NatAlyBFF4L]

Happy Fourth of July

[onefugue]

why thank you. they don't play like this much anymore. :)

[Mancalaman]

He bears a very striking resemblance to a young Rachmaninoff.

[nerduiop]

HAHA!

[DontForgetOldKolobok]

fuck....1:30 made me jump

[mishima1974]

Arthur who?

Horowitz is the King of the Pianoforte.

[maddorox]

he was. xD but that doesnt mean he was any bad at the piano... he was indeed great :D

[username1p]

he is handsome, but creepy looking too.

[alexilmagnifico]

every great interpretor becomes handsome whether he is or not.. after a resital a good one.. I feel liek I'm in love with the performer... and I think everyone gets the feeling :)

[krispy432]

Anybody who has this arrangement in their piano repertoire is to be envied.

[skalkmusix]

machine gun...

[mishima1974]

Machine gun?

You sir are a nincompoop of the highest order.

Either that or your deaf.

[tchebinai71]

I loooooove the canon bass of his steinway. !!!!!!!!!

[asoidfvgi]

i really like this tempo and many different tone color he made, the tonal depth of the melody

[CapitanCardigan]

im glad i had a change of pants handy.

[theot337]

ahahahahha same

[Kakarot21591]

@CapitanCardigan Lol! You just made my day!

[steinwaygrande1]

No one can play this better then the Master himself - Horowitz of course

[markitopapito]

Just Perfect!

[avalanche183]

Wow, like someone else said.. he must have a third arm that comes out and plays =P

Awesome playing by Horowitz.. just absolutely crazy!

[jaimevieuxtemps]

Does anybody know if this is the same as the transcription that Byron Janis played? It was featured on one of Karl Haas's Adventures in Good Music, and I have searched for years trying to figure out what transcription he was playing.

[UltimateScoundrel]

Don't know for sure, but Janis was Horowitz's student, so it could be.

[TomBarristerX]

It's Horowitz's own transcription, and Mr. Janis probably used it.

[pearlmuth3]

His looks was not important and as a young man he was not bad looking, this is not a good picture of him and his talent made him very attractive to many including Toscanini's daughter Wanda whom he married. He was the greatest always.

[pearlmuth3]

Had Horowitz been in Germany he would be killed him in a flash, Richard Tauber a devout Catholic had a Jewish father, was born in Austria he was a favorite operetta tenor in Germany, world famous but an SS man who loved opera and Tauber warned Mrs. Tauber "get Richard out of Germany now" He went to London and lived out his life and recorded their. Had it not been for that Nazi officer and I forget his name--Himmler I think, he would have been gassed like so many others with talent .

[pearlmuth3]

Hell they let Josef Schmidt die in a Swiss internment camp the Bastards and he was loved in Germany, made several movies and was even called the german caruso he was very short and small, died in 1942 at age 38, check out wikpedia. His voice was a great lyric tenor and Tauber who was half jewish had to run for his life out of the country to england. So even in a neutral country you could die in a camp as did schmidt who had a heart attack and little help to stay alive, they killed talent anyhow

[penguinshin]

man, he was always the best pianist, but the worst looking one...

[DonFrankos]

dude who cares about his looks.. what a stupid remark

[mpaton2006]

every fucking thread ends up in godwins law after about 3 minutes.

[nakedBison69]

what the fuck is g-dwins fucking law?

[mpaton2006]

where the thread turns into a discussion involving hitler and nazis

[nakedBison69]

mPaton brings shitler and the nazis into this discussion

[patrickjohn84]

Gives me chills.

[bkgangstapianist]

Beautiful. Happy 4th USA USA USA!!!

[ConteSakurai]

Militarist...

[bkgangstapianist]

Hater

[Engrmat32]

I was privileged to hear and see Horowitz play this as an encore at one of his concerts In Denver around 1951 or 1952 when I was in college. I have been an admirer ever since.

[Megapurrr]

I envy you

[lhiram23]

lucky man..i would like to know: compared with other pianists, did he have this special and powerful sound?

[Engrmat32]

I wish I could answer that but this was my first encounter with Horowitz's playing and I was sitting in the next to last row in the top balcony. I only know that I was impressed and became an admirer later on with greater availability of recordings of different pianists. When in high school, I cut my classical teeth on two sets of 78 rpm records with Rachmaninoff playing his 2nd and 3rd piano concertos.

[mmmax92]

GREAT! The best.....I love it!!!!!!!

[shiralevy]

brilliant jewish talent. the greatest jewish pianist ever borne. this was alas to saying the favourite music of hitler from america. horowitz not know this maybe.

[pennymusicMAma]

REPLY TO shiralevy: Are you sure? Hitler

HATED POLISH JEWS! Horowitz could have died

in a concentration camp, as many other artists

did. I am thanful that this Master Pianist

made it to America to grace the world with

his expertise.

[o0o0o0AH0o0o0o]

I don't know... maybe the Nazis will try ro cover up his ancestry? Sending Horowitz to a concentration camp is unthinkable...

[BOSOX9004]

Dont kid yourself. COUNTLESS great musicians were sent to camps and perished there.

The Nazis were pushing Mussolini lncredibly hard to detain TOSCANINI!!! Who was, at the time, the greatest and most respected musician in the world!

[Achtelnote]

think you know less about german history.of course they killed thousands of jewish artists.

[o0o0o0AH0o0o0o]

Of course I know that the Nazis killed thousands of Jewish artists. What I said was that maybe, just maybe, the Nazis will cover up Horowitz' ancestry - like they did with Eric Kleiber(who resigned anyway).

I think that Horowitz has too much talent to be sent to concentration camps.

Just clearing up my position.

[ThePiano1991]

It's unlikely that this could have happened in the first place and Horowitz was not polish and he left RUSSIA in the 1930's to head for America, long before Hitler raided Poland in 1941!

[patrickjohn84]

Poland was invaded in 1939.

[WeasleyOurKing]

This song reminds me of the 4th of July. Yay 4th of July!

[spamlove]

Americans should stay silent? And how much of the world was left untrashed by European imperialism? Hmmm. The U.S. had a relatively small and brief role to play in the history of slavery (for instance, twice as many slaves went to South America, and slavery existed long before America and still exists today). Any idiot knows that Einstein chose to immigrate to America. HUSSEIN, not Bush, was akin to Hitler, and you guys are akin to useless, ignorant pussies.

[smithrayvincent]

You are obviously ignorant of world history and ethics.Purchase a dictionary and use it.Above and beyond that, what does your comment have to do with someone playing the piano ?

[OrangeSodaKing]

mephaz and halmilton=OWNED

[yelvaberry]

I KNOW, RIGHT?

[nandofigueira2005]

BEAUTY PIANO :)

[dmese73]

En la antigua Radidifusora Nacional de Colombia, por los años 80 del pasado siglo,escuché una serie de programas sobre Sousa y lo que más recuerdo es la versión en piano de Horowitz. Qué alegría volver a escucharla. Siempre la disfruto.¡Viva el rey de la marcha!

[leguanche]

it may be a big one, but think twice (or once) before saying it's the greatest on earth...

[mephaz85]

I don't think so, you little national-socialist.

[eddopianist]

It does matter who plays it, many pianist rape the piece, don´t play it like a march.

[ericlanai]

wow

[TysonLaakkonen]

on naxosmusiclibrary I think is a better recording of horowitz playing this.

[thedays3]

One of your all time favorites :P

[TysonMS]

Just one question are you sure this is him playing?

[muyy1]

same question for me !

[lhiram23]

it's Horowitz, sure 100% !! ;-)

[ThePiano1991]

its is him playing its Hororwitz style of playing!

[TysonMS]

THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH. I've been searching the net for so long for this just yesterday. I mean I've been looking for a long time but yesterday I started looking furiously again. Now I can just rip the audio from this. Thanks so much! 5 stars and subscribed.