The Russian and American classical virtuoso pianist Vladimir Horowitz was a recording artist for over 60 years, beginning in 1926 on a piano roll system for Welte-Mignon, then with audio recordings, starting in 1928 for the Victor Talking Machine Company, later RCA Victor. Horowitz continued to record for a variety of record labels throughout his life. Between 1962 and 1973, he recorded for Columbia Masterworks In 1975, he returned to RCA, with which he recorded a series of live recitals. For the last years of his life, between 1985 and 1989, Horowitz recorded for Deutsche Grammophon. His final recording, with Sony Classical, was completed in November 1989, four days before his death. This final recording consisted of repertoire that he had never previously recorded. His discography contains numerous albums and compilations of works by a variety of composers. Horowitz has also appeared in several video items, most of which were produced in the later years of his life.
Overview
Horowitz's first recordings were made in 1926, on piano rolls at the Welte-Mignon studios in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. He also recorded piano rolls for Aeolian. His first audio recordings were made in the United States during 1928 for the Victor Talking Machine Company, Because of a reduction of recording activities due to the economic impact of the Great Depression, RCA Victor agreed to allow its recording artists' European-produced recordings to be made by His Master's Voice, RCA Victor's London-based affiliate. Horowitz's first European recording, in 1930, was of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 with Albert Coates and the London Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere recording of that piece. Through 1936, Horowitz continued to make recordings for His Master's Voice of solo piano repertoire, including his 1932 account of Liszt's Sonata in B minor. Beginning in 1940, Horowitz's recording activity was again concentrated in the U.S. That year, he recorded Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2, and in 1941, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, both with Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. With the creation of the modern LP record in 1948, many of his older recordings were reissued in the new format and some items received multiple reissues. During Horowitz's second retirement, which began in 1953, he made a series of recordings for RCA Victor in his New York townhouse, including LPs of Scriabin and Clementi. Horowitz's first stereo recording, made by RCA Victor in 1959, was devoted to two of Beethoven's piano sonatas.
In 1962, Horowitz embarked on a series of highly acclaimed recordings for Columbia Masterworks, which was later renamed to Sony Classical after the label was acquired by Sony in 1990. The most famous among them are his 1965 return concert at Carnegie Hall and a 1968 recording from his television special, Vladimir Horowitz: A Concert at Carnegie Hall, televised by CBS. Horowitz also continued to make studio recordings, including a 1969 recording of Kreisleriana by Robert Schumann, which was awarded the Prix Mondial du Disque. All of Horowitz's Columbia recordings were released as a 13-CD set by Sony Masterworks in 1993. In 1975, Horowitz returned to RCA, releasing a series of live recordings until 1982. During this period, Columbia also repackaged their Horowitz recordings with reissues including the named Beethoven Sonatas and multiple-LP sets of Chopin. In 1985, Horowitz signed with Deutsche Grammophon, and made both studio and live recordings until 1989, including his only recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23. Four filmed documents were made during this time, including the telecast of his April 20, 1986 Moscow recital. His final recording, for Sony Classical, was completed four days before his death and consisted of repertoire he had never previously recorded.
With the advent of the compact disc, the various labels for which Horowitz recorded began reissuing his pre-digital recordings. This began in the mid-1980s and increased in the years immediately following Horowitz's death. Beginning in 1987, Columbia issued single-composer compilations drawn from various albums. RCA Victor issued many of Horowitz's recordings on their Gold Seal mid-priced label. By 1993, both Columbia's and RCA's entire cache of previously issued recordings was available on CD, including several older items which had never appeared on LP. A number of items were issued more than once, including the 1978 recording of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 which was issued on CD in 1987, again in 1993, with a new cover, and in a new remastering in 2000. Over the past two decades, several previously unavailable Horowitz recordings have been issued. These include studio and live recordings from the Columbia era, and a collection from Carnegie Hall recitals between 1945 and 1951 which were recorded privately by Horowitz. In addition, several smaller labels have issued CDs made from bootleg recordings from the 1960s onward and several of Horowitz's stereo recordings have been issued in the blu-spec and SHM-CD (Super High Material) formats.
The listing below only contains CD releases, and does not contain 78 rpm, LP, cassette, or 8-track tape releases. The videography includes items which have been released on VHS, Laserdisc and DVD.
Albums
Year of issueAlbum detailsRecording date(s)Record label 1982 Horowitz At the Met
Scarlatti: Six Sonatas Chopin: Ballade in F minor, Op. 52 / Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69, No. 1 Liszt: Ballade in B minor, S. 171 Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5 RCA Red Seal Records 1983 Horowitz in London
Traditional: God Save the Queen Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61 / Ballade in G minor, Op. 23 Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scriabin: Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 RCA Red Seal Records 1985 Vladimir Horowitz – The Last Romantic
Bach–Busoni: Chorale Prelude "Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland" Mozart: Sonata in C major, K. 330 Chopin: Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4 / Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20 / Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 Schubert: Impromptu in A-flat major, D. 899, No. 4 Liszt: Consolation No. 3 in D-flat major, S. 172, No. 3 Schumann: Novelette in F major, Op. 21, No. 1 Scriabin: Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1 Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12 Moszkowski: Etude in F major, Op. 72, No. 6 Deutsche Grammophon 1986 The Studio Recordings, New York 1985
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16 Scarlatti: Sonata in B minor, K. 87 / Sonata in E major, K. 135 Liszt: Impromptu (Nocturne), in F-sharp major / Valse oubliée No. 1 Scriabin: Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 Schubert: Impromptu in B-flat major, D. 935, No. 3 Schubert-Tausig: Marche Militaire in D-flat major Deutsche Grammophon 1986 Horowitz in Moscow
Scarlatti: Sonata in E major, K. 380 Mozart: Sonata in C major, K. 330 Rachmaninoff: Prelude in G major, Op. 32, No. 5 / Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12 / Polka de W. R. Scriabin: Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1 / Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 Liszt: Soirées de Vienne, Valse Caprice No. 6 (after Schubert) / Sonetto del Petrarca No. 104 Chopin: Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 30, No. 4 / Mazurka in F minor, Op. 7, No. 3 Schumann: Träumerei Moszkowski: Étincelles, Op. 36, No. 6 Deutsche Grammophon 1987 Horowitz Plays Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 (Orchestra della Teatro alla Scala / Carlo Maria Giulini, Conductor) Sonata in B-flat major, K. 333 Deutsche Grammophon 1987 Horowitz Plays Liszt
Sonata in B minor, S. 178 / Ballade in B minor, S. 171 / Funerailles, S. 173, No. 7 / Consolation in D-flat major, S. 172, No. 3 / Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 (arr. Horowitz) 1950–1981 RCA Red Seal Records 1989 Horowitz At Home
Mozart: Sonata in B-flat, K. 281 / Adagio in B minor, K. 540 / Rondo in D major, K. 485 Schubert: Moment musical in F minor, D. 80, No. 3 Liszt: Ständchen / Soirées de Vienne, Valse Caprices Nos. 6 and 7 (all after Schubert) 1986–1989 Deutsche Grammophon 1989 Horowitz Plays Rachmaninoff
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 36 / Moment Musical in E-flat minor, Op. 16 No. 2 / Prelude in G major, Op. 32, No. 5 / Polka de W. R. in A-flat major Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 (RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra / Fritz Reiner, Conductor) 1951–1980 RCA Gold Seal 1989 Horowitz Plays Clementi
Sonata in C major, Op. 33 No. 3 / Sonata in G minor, Op. 34 No. 2 / Sonata in F minor, Op. 13 No. 6 / Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 5 / Rondo from Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 24 No. 2 1954 RCA Gold Seal 1989 Horowitz Plays Scriabin
Sonatas: No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Op. 23 / No. 5, Op. 53 Preludes: Op. 11, Nos. 1, 3, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16 / Op. 13, No. 6 / Op. 15, No. 2 / Op. 16, Nos. 1, 4 / Op. 27, No. 1 / Op. 48, No. 3 / Op. 51, No. 2 / Op. 59, No. 2 / Op. 67, No. 1 Etudes: Op. 8, Nos. 7, 12 / Op. 42, No. 5 1953–1982 RCA Gold Seal 1989 Horowitz Plays Schumann
Sonata in F minor, Op. 14 (Concerto without Orchestra) / Humoreske, Op. 20 / Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 / Nachtstücke, Op. 23, Nos. 3 & 4 1976–1980 RCA Gold Seal 1989 Horowitz In Concert 1967–1968
Scarlatti: Sonata in F-sharp major, K. 319 / Sonata in G major, K. 260 Haydn: Sonata No. 48 in C major Beethoven: Sonata in A major, Op. 101 Liszt: Scherzo and March, S. 177 Mendelssohn: Etude in A minor, Op. 104b, No. 3 1967–1968 CBS Masterworks 1989 Mozart: Piano Sonatas
Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 281 / Piano Sonata in C major, K. 330 / Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 333 / Adagio in B minor, K. 540 / Rondo in D major, K. 485 1980–1988 Deutsche Grammophon 1990 Horowitz Plays Brahms & Beethoven
Scarlatti: Sonata in E major, K. 380 Bach–Busoni: Chorale Prelude Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland – Come, Redeemer Haydn: Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI: 52 Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata Brahms: Violin Sonata, Op. 108 (Nathan Milstein, Violin) Schumann: Träumerei 1946–1951 RCA Gold Seal 1990 Horowitz Plays Prokofiev, Barber & Kabalevsky Sonatas
Prokofiev: Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 / Toccata, Op. 11 Barber: Sonata, Op. 26 Kabalevsky: Sonata No. 3 in F major, Op. 46 Fauré: Nocturne in B minor, Op. 119 Poulenc: Presto in B-flat major, FP 70 1945–1977 RCA Gold Seal 1990 Horowitz Plays Beethoven Sonatas
Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 “Appassionata” / Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” / Sonata in C major, Op. 53 “Waldstein” 1956–1959 RCA Gold Seal 1990 Horowitz Plays Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1 and Beethoven: Concerto No. 5 "Emperor"
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto in B-flat minor, Op. 23 (NBC Symphony Orchestra / Arturo Toscanini, Conductor) Beethoven: Piano Concerto in E-flat major, Op. 73 "Emperor" (RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra / Fritz Reiner, Conductor) 1943, 1951 RCA Gold Seal 1990 Horowitz – The Last Recording
Haydn: Sonata No. 49 in E-flat major Chopin: Mazurka in C minor, Op. 56, No. 3 / Nocturne E-flat major, Op. 55, No. 2 / Fantasy-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. 66 / Etude in A-flat major, Op. 25, No. 1 / Nocturne in B major, Op. 62, No. 1 Liszt: Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, prelude (after J. S. Bach) Wagner-Liszt: Isolde's Liebestod Sony Classical 1990 Horowitz Plays Chopin, Vol. 1
Polonaise-Fantasie, Op. 61 / Ballade in G minor, Op. 23 / Barcarolle, Op. 60 / Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 25, No. 7 / Etude in G-flat major, Op. 10, No. 5 / Ballade in F minor, Op. 52 / Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69, No. 1 / Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise in E-flat major, Op. 22 1945–1982 RCA Gold Seal 1990 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition and Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto in B-flat minor, Op. 23 (NBC Symphony Orchestra / Arturo Toscanini, Conductor) Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (arr. Horowitz) 1941, 1951 RCA Gold Seal 1991 Horowitz The Poet
Schubert: Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960 Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15 1986, 1987 Deutsche Grammophon 1991 Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2