Word: horowitzes
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...hadn't heard his name before," recalls Wanda. "A French lady was gazing at him, and I asked, 'Who is that?' She answered, 'Horowitz. He's a genius.'" At a private party, Wanda and Vladimir met again. He was shy and withdrawn, so he took refuge where he was most comfortable, at the piano, playing Chopin mazurkas. Wanda listened with a fascination that grew in intensity as, over the next few months, she heard him in both New York and Italy. At Milan's La Scala, Horowitz performed his signature concerto, the Rachmaninoff Third. "Then he came to visit...
...married an angel," he says. "She married a devil. There was much devil in me then." So there was. A relationship with a woman was an unusual experience for Horowitz, who was more comfortable in the company of men. As for Wanda, even a life of caddying for her fiery father had not prepared her for the emotional wringer she would go through with Horowitz. Despite the birth of their daughter Sonia in 1934, Horowitz's bisexuality ensured that the marriage was often stormy. They separated in 1949 and did not get back together permanently until 1953. "There were predictable...
Sonia was the tragic Horowitz. A pretty but moody girl with dark burning Toscanini eyes, she was her famed grandfather's favorite and could speak to him in a way that nobody else dared. The maestro once asked her whether she would prefer to be a conductor or a pianist. "A conductor," Sonia replied. "It's easier." She was naturally talented, adept at the piano, a good writer, accomplished at painting and photography. But she was emotionally unstable, and Toscanini's death in January 1957 grieved her deeply. Five months later, she was severely injured in a motor-scooter accident...
...Horowitz, when asked what is most important in his life, answers simply: "My wife and that I can still play, am still a musician." He continues: "I made only one mistake when we were married, and that was I did not teach her to play duets. Now I will correct that mistake, and we will play four hands together." Wanda looks at him, understanding this unspoken declaration of love, and appears content. "You're lucky," she tells...
...York City, 1944. After hearing a 15-year-old prodigy named Byron Janis perform, Horowitz invites the boy to study with him. The fee: $50 an hour. "I was awed, inspired and, yes, a little frightened," remembers Janis. "I was aware from what people were telling me and from what I had read about Horowitz that there would be difficulties in working with such a great artist." The pedagogy was unusual. Horowitz advised against practicing too much. (He himself dislikes practicing.) Sometimes the maestro would listen while lying on the floor, offering suggestions from a prone position. "The piano...