The planning for Horowitz's concerts was kept highly confidential, using the code name 'La Cantatrice Chauve' (The bald soprano), a title borrowed from playwright Ionesco, due to Horowitz's desire to surprise critics and audiences.
Performer Biography
This album captures Vladimir Horowitz, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, performing in Germany for the first time in over 50 years.
Recording & Production
The concerts featured on this album were initially arranged by Elmar Weingarten, then a newcomer to the music industry, who was tasked with bringing Horowitz to Berlin.
Critical Reception
Tickets for Horowitz's concerts in Hamburg and Berlin sold out in less than two hours, despite unprecedented prices, with long queues forming days in advance.
Historical Context
Horowitz's return to Germany was part of a larger project by the Berlin Festival to feature "Suppressed music" and artists who had fled Nazi terror in the 1930s.
Performer Biography
Vladimir Horowitz only gave recitals on Sunday afternoons at four o'clock in the last decades of his life, believing it was the best time for both him and the audience.
Historical Context
Horowitz's concert tour included Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), where he had his first artistic successes, and his appearance in Moscow was captured on video as 'Horowitz in Moscow'.
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Vladimir Horowitz live at Carnegie Hall - Recital December 15, 1968: Haydn, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt & Moszkowski
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Introspection: Solo Piano Sessions
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