Hello and welcome all to this new video! It's been a while since I have last posted, but rest be assured: I am returning to YouTube in sights of getting my name out there, so expect more videos in the future! Allow me to explain the context of this video. The video serves as a prelude to a documentary that I am currently doing my research on this person, and there is a LOT to unpack. The pianist you are hearing here is Vladimir Horowitz at the age of 79 years old. "Who is he?" one may ask. Vladimir Horowitz is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time - having won 25 Grammy Awards, playing in front of 3 United States Presidents and many more accomplishments are under his belt. Born in 1903, he lived in a Russian Jewish household and went through many trials and tribulations alongside his loved ones, going through the Russian Revolution, bearing heavy personal losses in his immediate family and making the hard decision of leaving Russia (in the year 1925) to start a better life for himself in America. Horowitz would become an American citizen and stay that way for the rest of his life. Bearing all of this personal stress was too much for him at times, and Horowitz went through many cycles of depression, most notably causing him to leave the life of a concert pianist from 1953-1965: 12 years. He did return in 1965, and his performing style became more mature and individualistic, and his technique and musicality were at the absolute peak. He would continue to perform well and did nothing but heighten his greatness and legacy as the years went on...unfortunately, in 1975, his daughter, Sonia Horowitz, died in a tragic motorcycle accident - Sonia was his only child. Horowitz did not stop performing and there was no change in his personality or playing style, but the loss would definitely be a defining crack in his mental stability going into the '80s. In 1982, Horowitz was invited to play for Prince Charles as a response to the new birth of Prince William - in the Royal Concert Hall in London. For context, he had never set foot outside American soil for the last 57 years, and so this obviously was very nerve-wracking for him. The London performance was televised for the excited fans and critics to hear the great maestro play for a European audience. That performance was easily, and I mean EASILY his absolute worst concert (for the time being) - numerous wrong notes, overpedalling and no respect for the composers' original markings don't even begin to describe all of the negative qualities of that concert. He just seemed...off that day -- he seemed fazed and weak at times, and the energy gave off wasn't electrifying as normal but enigmatic and hazy. One could argue that nerves were a huge contributor, and I would personally agree (Horowitz would go on to play a second concert in London just around a week later and did play a lot better) ...however something deeper and sadder was going on behind the scenes. After his two performances in London, Horowitz would not play again for the remainder of 1982. Fast forward to a year later in 1983, and this is where the true destructive "crack" of his daughter's death comes to show in his playing. He had fallen into another depression, but instead of backing off (like he did for 12 years), he decided to face it head-on and started taking antidepressants...a bit too much. He overdosed on those antidepressants and decided that it would be a good idea to drink alcohol with those pills - very bad idea. Let's see how that played out. He'd start by playing 7 concerts in America and each had atrocious qualities: the mistakes were much more numerous (to the point of unacceptable), the musical touch was shakier, and critics aggressively tore his performances apart in unison...not many positive reviews. His lowest point came in June 11 of 1983, where he went to Tokyo, Japan...for the first time ever. Horowitz played at his absolute worst here (yes, even worse than London of 1982); the performance was televised as well, which makes his debut in Japan much more painful to witness. This is where we stop in his story for now. Now, let me say this: I don't hate his 1982-1983 performances at all. In fact, I enjoy them in some areas...the musical beauty is still there, and you can understand what he's TRYING to express to the audience. This video could come to show that Horowitz, even at his absolute worst, could play better than most of...humanity, really! Now, the performance in this video was in Philadelphia - the first of his concert tour that year. Michael Brown, a beloved Horowitz fan, released this performance many years ago, but the recording was a pitch high and too fast. So, I've remastered it in the best way I could to present to you now! Leave your opinion in the comments after hearing this: is this performance riddled with beauty and opportunities to learn from Horowitz, or is it an onslaught of wrong notes and a butchery?
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