Vladimir Horowitz's approach to concert programming

Vladimir Horowitz was a canny program builder.  He once compared building a great program to planning a fine meal: a light appetizer, a heavier main course, a sweet dessert.  The notion of programming the last three Beethoven Sonatas or the last two Schubert Sonatas was anathema to him.  In fact, single-composer programs were a rare occurrence for Horowitz, with exceptions such as the May 1978 international concert at Carnegie Hall where fans the world over were enticed to hear Horowitz as part of a tourist package.  

Horowitz’s programs demonstrate his desire to thread the needle between musical profundity and entertainment.  The latter principle has taken on a dirty meaning over the decades, but it’s worth noting that the word “entertainment” derives from the Greek word “entrata” which means “to hold” – in this case, the audience’s attention.  But Horowitz would never have stooped to recording an album of Disney tunes, and angrily rejected RCA’s proposal that he record Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue or an album of marches.  He wanted to do things his own way, a principle which extended to his concert programs. 

Almost invariably, Horowitz programmed his concerts around one or two larger works, and with rare exceptions (Rachmaninoff’s Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 36 or his own arrangement of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition) the large works were performed during the first half of the concert. 

Three concerts played within two months at Carnegie Hall in 1946.  

After his 1965 comeback, Horowitz generally had one program that he mostly stuck with for an entire season, sometimes having additional pieces at the ready in case he played twice in the same city.  For example, during the 1985-1986 season, he alternated between Schumann’s Kreisleriana, Op. 16 and Mozart’s Sonata in C major, K. 330 (with a few additional works to balance out the timing). 

Driven by a dual desire to keep himself musically fresh and give his audiences something new, his programs generally feature at least one work either entirely new to his repertoire or something he had not played in many years.   Here is a partial listing of new/revived solo works, starting in 1951, with (n) indicating a work new to his public repertoire and (t) indicating a work he hadn’t performed publicly in over ten years.  Shorter works including Etudes, Mazurkas, Songs without Words, and the like are not included here.

1951: Mozart: Sonata in B-flat minor, K. 333 (n)

1952-1953: Schubert: Sonata in B-flat major, D.960 (n); Scriabin: Sonata No.9, Op.68 (n);  Liszt/Horowitz: Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 in C-sharp minor (n)

1965: As this was Horowitz’s first concert since 1953, none of the works had been performed within the previous ten years.

1966: Haydn: Sonata in F major, Hob. XVI:23 (n); Schumann: Blumenstück, Op.19 (t); Chopin: Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.35 (t); Debussy: Preludes & L'Isle Joyeuse (t); Liszt: Vallée d'Obermann (t); Scriabin: Sonata No.10, Op.70 (n)

1967-1968: Scarlatti: Various Sonatas (n); Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op.101 (t); Chopin: Barcarolle in F-sharp major, Op.60 (t); Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op.44 (n)

1968: Haydn: Sonata in C major, Hob. XVI:48 (n); Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (n); Rachmaninoff: Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35 (t)

1969: Scriabin: selected Etudes (r & t); Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 (arr. Horowitz) (n)

1974: Clementi: Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op.26 No.2 (n); Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op.15 (t); Chopin: Introduction & Rondo, Op.16 (n)

1975-1976: Schumann: Sonata in F minor, Op. 14 (Concerto without Orchestra) (n)

1976-1977: Clementi: Sonata in C major, Op.33 No.3 (n); Liszt: Sonata in B minor (t)

1977-1978: Mozart: Sonata in C major, K.330 (n)

Fauré: Nocturne in B minor, Op.119;  Fauré: Impromptu in F-sharp minor, Op.102 (n)

1978-1979: Schumann: Humoreske, Op.20 (t) (VH had played selections from this work in the 1934-1935 season.)

1979-1980: Rachmaninoff/Horowitz: Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.36 (t)

1981-1982: Scarlatti: Various Sonatas (n); Liszt: Ballade in B minor

1982-1983: Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9 (t)

1985-1986: Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (t); Liszt: Soirees de Vienne No. 6 (after Schubert) (n)

1987: Mozart: Sonata in B-flat major, K. 333 (t)

 

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