Vintage Vladimir Horowitz Home Movie

Get the latest Flash player

creativebna
November 22, 2006

This 1928 & 1929 home movie was fillmed in Cincinnati, Ohio at the home of Dr. Karol Liszniewski, my late father's (pianist David Edward Smith's) music teacher. Horowitz made his debut in New York...

This 1928 & 1929 home movie was fillmed in Cincinnati, Ohio at the home of Dr. Karol Liszniewski, my late father's (pianist David Edward Smith's) music teacher.

Horowitz made his debut in New York in 1928 and then came to Cincinnati for a concert with the symphony and this home movie was filmed at a party after the concert.

In 1944, music critic J. Harold Harder, writing for the Toldeo Blade newspaper (April 17, 1944) after a concert by my father, (who was then 19 years old) said :"The best title to give him is the 'American Horowitz". See:
http://www.drslawfirm.com/toledoblade...
See also 1951 review of David Smith's concert at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC where critic Glen Dillard Dunn, of the Times-Herald said his playing "belongs in the same category with Solomon, Curzon, and even the venerable Arthur Rubenstein".
http://www.drslawfirm.com/natlgallery...

My father played Horowtiz's variations of Bizet's theme from Carmen several times in concert to very great reviews. I have the sheet music (notes/fingering) he prepared. Horowitz's "Carmen variations" was never published. My father wrote and asked Horowitz for the music/fingering but Horowitz declined, albeit respectfully. So my father had an sound engineer at the college where he was teaching in Oregon slow down the music so he could listen to the notes. He then prepared sheet music and played the piece. If anyone would like a copy of this music I would be happy to provide a copy. He said (my father) it was very difficult to play. But I would love to see/hear it played again.

Some of you have commented or e-mailed me as to my father's style of play. A bit of history. David Edward Smith, studied piano from the age of 12 (1936) until age 20 (1944) with Dr. Karol Liszniewski of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. What is no doubt lost to history is Dr. Liszniewski's exceptional background and lifestyle that so suited him to be a master teacher of the piano. Born in Poland, in his youth Liszniewski studied with Mikuli who had studied with Chopin. After receiving a law degree he went to Vienna to study with Leschetitsky, the great teacher of piano. There Liszniewski fell in love with another student (who was English)--Marguerite Melville--whom he married. Liszniewski was then involved in a duel--a matter of honor--and tendons in his right hand were severed, ending his concert career. Eventually he and his wife were both asked to join the faculty at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. My father became a pupil at the age of 12.

My father wrote in a letter: "All the Polish celebrities knew Dr. Liszniewski (who speaks Polish besides the Poles?). Arthur Rubinstein and Mieczyslaw Munz often stopped by when they were on tour. So did Rachmaninoff and Paderewski. I would be allowed to sit right next to them--only inches from the keyboard--to watch them practice by the hour--preparing for their solo recitals and concerto performances. They would give me lessons and sometimes, when I was practicing in my room upstairs, they would open the door at the bottom of the stairs and yell such things as 'Practice SLOWLY' or, for example, 'Who told you to do that crescendo in the left hand' (I had done something terrible, no doubt). 'That's good-don't ever change that!' (What a pleasant surprise). Sometimes they would come to my room to watch me practice--stopping me to show better fingering, a more beautiful interpretation, or how to solve some difficult problem 'at hand'. To an artist there is nothing quite so satisfying as the solving of an 'aesthetic problem'."

Category: Film & Animation

Tags:

More From: creativebna

Play All Stop Autoplaying | Play Next

QuickList(0)

Clear | Save

103 ratings

62,115 views

Favorite

Playlists

Flag

Want to add to Favorites? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Want to add to Playlists? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Want to flag a video? Sign In or Sign Up now!

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

This video has no Responses. Be the first to Post a Video Response.

Text Comments (71) Options

vdmerwe (2 months ago) Show Hide

-1

Marked as spam

I don't think Horowitz cared much for ladies...just sayin'

shilloshillos (2 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

true...

3NUNS (2 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

You know, ladies and gentlemen, how great pianner players, are often diplomatists first and are often the progenitors of war ...

Bruce88keys (1 month ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

schmuck

nickwallacesmith (3 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

great post - love to see how famous people were in their private lives - makes them real for me

Classicmozayful (4 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

wow, he was quite handsome in his youth...

callenishss (4 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

except.... STARDOM back then was very meaningful. Stardom now is meaningless

leonengard (4 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

What an elegant man he was!

88alan8800 (7 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

what a pimp

KiaOra53 (9 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

A Time Warp!

What a treat. Thank you.

Showing 10 of 71 comments

Show More Comments

View All 71 comments

Would you like to comment?

Join YouTube for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.

YouTube	Programs	Help	Policy	Discover
Contact Us	Advertising	Get Help	Privacy Policy	YouTube on Your Phone
YouTube Store	Developers	YouTube Handbook	Terms of Service	YouTube on Your Site
Press Room	Partnerships	Community Help Forums	Copyright Notices	YouTube on Your TV
Business Blog	Content Management	Safety Center	Community Guidelines	YouTube RSS Feeds
YouTube Blog		Creator's Corner		TestTube

Add YouTube to your Google homepage

Current Location: UK Show locations

Vintage Vladimir Horowitz Home Movie

More From: creativebna

QuickList(0)

Related Videos

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

Text Comments (71) Options

Would you like to comment?