July 4th is the day that all Americans celebrate patriotism in the most traditional ways, whether it be family barbeques, attending parades, or watching fireworks. Terry Teachout, one of my favorite music critics wrote an article in today's WSJ about a performance by Vladimir Horowitz that is particularly relevant for today which I had not heard previously. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Steved and I just returned from vacation in Russia (and Italy), on which I am sure Steve will provide details shortly. But this performance left me in tears. Horowitz was born in Russia (Kiev) in 1903 and immigrated to the west in 1925, shortly after the great Bolshevik revolution in 1917 which dismantled the Tsarist autocracy and led to the rise of the Soviet Union. He died in NYC in 1989. Suffice it to say, here was a man who understood freedom in a way most of us will never know. As we celebrate today's holiday, Teachout reminds us that "one of the greatest piano performances of all time was Horowitz's feat of patriotic prestidigitation when he transcribed “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” the most famous and beloved of John Philip Sousa’s 137 marches for military band. Arturo Toscanini, Horowitz’s father-in-law, started performing “The Stars and Stripes Forever” with the NBC Symphony in 1943 as a wartime tribute to the U.S. armed forces. Horowitz, a refugee from Soviet Russia who became a naturalized U.S. citizen the following year, heard a Toscanini performance and decided to arrange the march as a gesture of gratitude to his new-found homeland. The results were an instant hit when he unveiled the piece in Minneapolis in 1945."
Horowitz never published his “Stars and Stripes Forever” transcription, but various admirers have taken it down by ear. Many have tried to play this piece and some have succeeded. But no one has ever played it like Horowitz, and the reason probably has as much to do with its sheer technical skills as it does his personal background. You just know his deep understanding of democracy is the basis for his ability to play this piece with monstrous musicality, tenderness and power as only he could. Some listeners swear that he must have had three hands (particularly for the piccolo part). You can hear it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxO9k53IsMU
Happy July 4th to everyone.
Horowitz never published his “Stars and Stripes Forever” transcription, but various admirers have taken it down by ear. Many have tried to play this piece and some have succeeded. But no one has ever played it like Horowitz, and the reason probably has as much to do with its sheer technical skills as it does his personal background. You just know his deep understanding of democracy is the basis for his ability to play this piece with monstrous musicality, tenderness and power as only he could. Some listeners swear that he must have had three hands (particularly for the piccolo part). You can hear it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxO9k53IsMU
Happy July 4th to everyone.
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