vladimir horowitz's piano tuner - to russia - 1986

[memoryrach]

THIS was the piano i played today. oops.

[kasyapa]

memoryrach - i played it several years ago - CD 314 503 - and was upset at its deterioration in the middle register especially. how did it feel to you?

[jjp009]

@kasyapa Hey there. I think I commented with you before on this subject. But, I played 314503 in September 2002 at Rice Music House in Columbia, South Carolina, and whoever the technician was there, he/she maintained that piano beautifully. I did notice a few gouges and cigarette burns in the case here and there, but the tuning, voicing, and regulation were absolutely perfect. I played everything I knew twice.

[kasyapa]

jjp009 - i'm glad it was in good shape then. when i played it around 1992 it was the greatest piano i ever played - about 10 years later it had deteriorated horrifically, especially from c4 down to about f#2 or so - the sound was very dead in that range. there were still traces of greatness in the bass and the treble. i did some recordings - my playing was mostly not good, but they're good documents of the remains of a mighty piano.

[jjp009]

@kasyapa I'm really sad to hear that they would let a national treasure like the Maestro's piano die a slow death like that. As a piano technician, I would have done all the work to bring it back in to spec for free, but they never would have let me touch it if I asked.

[frances0130]

solute to the 2 maestros~~~

[GreeneMusicSanDiego]

If anybody is in the San Diego area, Greene Music will have Vladimir Horowitz's 9' Steinway & Sons Concert Grand piano at our store from September 19 - October 6. Go to our website for more details.

[123demaio]

Horiwitz could play pianomisimo like no other . playing so softly and controlled as he did demanded a piano regulation and touch to that degree

[kasyapa]

123demaio - the pianissimo is actually the foundation of his art.

[123demaio]

this piano has a very light touch more so then any other i ever played

[kasyapa]

123demaio - agreed. ~28 grams, franz told me.

[4785689]

I want this piano! (:

[kasyapa]

steinway has it out on tour ... you can play it. :)

[mingweicello]

if he has more hairs, he almost looks like Einstein.

[kasyapa]

you know, i never thought of that. :)

[violin614]

I suppose anything is possible really!

It doesn't work like that in MY life! But I suppose anything is possible if you pay for it. It's more a question of CAN you? and if so, is it worth it?

[cplai]

I went to a book signing event of Franz Mohr yesterday. He is the author of the book "My Life with the Great Pianists" He told good stories able Horowitz and his wife Wanda.

[kasyapa]

would you write out his stories somewhere? i want to preserve such things before they're gone!

[cplai]

He told his stories in his book. I would be in jail if I copy his book's contents here.

[ihrtmusic12334]

that is like my favorite book

[yamahabro]

I have that book -- his anecdotes are so intriguing, and touching, all the same.

[RussianVideos]

Very interesting video. Feel free to check out my channal for more Russian videos.

[HartfordTommy]

I was fortunate to have a career in that field. I got to meet Horowitz on two occasions.

Franz Mohr was a mentor to me and to many other concert technicians. A great man.

[kasyapa]

how fascinating! tell me, what were your experiences with horowitz? did mohr speak of him to you?

[DOBORBEN]

"Horowitz took one of their pianos to his hotel and had the keys drilled and filled with weights to make the action extremely heavy to practise on..."

Yes, Horowitz had a sound like the fireworks, and nothing more....was a great performance of virtuosistic pieces, but he can´t show emotions and feelings like other pianists.

[GreatPianists]

What...?

"can't show emotions and feelings"? I've never heard such a false statement in my life.

I listen to Horowitz for the very emotion and color that you insist he lacks...

[orpheus63]

nonsense: open your ears

[aewanko300]

HERESY!!

[xistr]

No, what Horowitz actually did was he drove a nail into the front of each key, tied a string to each nail then tied a brick to each string, so there were 88 bricks dangling from the front of the piano. Then, for good measure, he spray painted the keys bright orange. When Steinway got the piano back in this condition they were understandably very upset and told Horowitz he couldn't use their pianos anymore and he'd have to play a Yamaha upright for the rest of his concerts.

[xistr]

When Wanda found out about this, she opened a can of whoop-ass on Steinway's Richard Probst. He finally relented and allowed Horowitz to use a Boston baby grand for the rest of his concerts, as long the Horowitzes promised not to fool with it.

[John19182004]

I wish there was footage of them lifting out of his NY townhouse by crane, with the road shut down!! saw pics once but no video. Horowitz couldnt' watch he was so nervous about it being dropped

[stringph]

I'm surprised how un-slowly Horowitz plays the Schumann piece at the end! It was his 'signature tune', but usually much slower and rubato-d about. I actually prefer the way we have it here...

[kasyapa]

he seemed to experiment with it constantly. maybe its very simplicity was an ultimate challenge. and, as some musicologists have found, it's in perfect four-part harmony, so there were a lot of lines and voices for him to work on. have you seen his kinder. from vienna, 1987? he actually has a tear in his eye at the end!

[tchebinai71]

Where ??? Which video ? Tell me please .

[saulboyjt]

Stunning video, greatest pianist ever.

Thanks for the vid.

[kasyapa]

you are very welcome. more coming, when i can find them and convert them properly.

[alkanlover]

Thanks for this great clip. I spoke with the head of Steinways in London when Horowitz played there in 1982 and he told me Horowitz took one of their pianos to his hotel and had the keys drilled and filled with weights to make the action extremely heavy to practise on and apparently it wrecked the instrument because so many holes were drilled into the wood!

[kasyapa]

now that's really fascinating, because there's been controversy lately about horowitz's light key weight in his standard concert instruments. i played cd 314 503 (if i remember the numbers right) around 1991, and it was in magnificent shape - and very light key weight indeed. smart tactic on horowitz's part!

[jjp009]

Kasyapa: Yes, I played 314503 (you have the number right) in September 2002 at Rice Music House in Columbia, South Carolina when it was on tour, and it was the most featherly light, even, almost liquid-like action I've ever layed my fingers on. I consider myself to be an adequate player, but it was almost like I couldn't make a mistake if I tried...it really played itself. Giant bass and shimmering treble!

[kasyapa]

when i played it in 2003 (number of videos on here from that session) it was seriously deteriorated in the middle section - i looked under piano and there were decals on the soundboard! the section from a little below middle c down to about e2 was horrid - just about dead. i wish it were taken better care of.

[jjp009]

Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that. Yes, I think I've seen most of your videos playing it, and my only complaint was that it definitely sounded out of tune in the tenor and lower treble (Your playing was fantastic!). Wanda must no longer be alive, because I can't imagine her ever letting it get in that bad of shape. I read Franz came out once per month to tune and regulate whether it was played or not. He retired in 1992.

[kasyapa]

yes, she died in 1998. i met franz once, while he was touring promoting his (amazingly religiously-inclined) book on his life with great pianists. interesting eccentric-emergetic guy - can see why he and horowitz got along!

[xistr]

No, what Horowitz actually did was he drove a nail into the front of each key, tied a string to each nail then tied a brick to each string, so there were 88 bricks dangling from the front of the piano. Then, for good measure, he spray painted the keys bright orange. When Steinway got the piano back in this condition they were understandably very upset and told Horowitz he couldn't use their pianos anymore and he'd have to play a Yamaha upright for the rest of his concerts.

[alkanlover]

That's exactly right!! But how did you know?!! LOL

[xistr]

I know, because I was the guy Steinway paid ten bucks to hurl a dead Bichon Frisé into the Horowitz's backyard, as a warning.

[xistr]

I know, because I was the guy Steinway paid ten bucks to hurl a dead Bichon Frisé into the Horowitz's backyard, as a warning.

[Martel211996]

@xistr Is this a joke?