The Great Pianists of the 20th Century — Horowitz, Gould, Richter, Argerich

“Pianists of the Age of Recording”

Up to the previous article on Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, pianists earned their fame chiefly through public concerts and printed scores. When the phonograph, LP, CD, and YouTube developed in the 20th century, the age of recorded, worldwide pianists arrived:

• 1900s — 78 rpm SP records (3–4 minutes a side)
• 1948 — LP records (30 minutes continuous)
• 1963 — cassettes
• 1982 — CDs
• From 2005 — YouTube, digital streaming

“A performer’s art is preserved almost forever and reaches the whole world” — a major turn in the history of music. Like Liszt, one still builds a name through performance, but the record of it remains as “legend.” The 20th century became the age of “judging performers by their recordings.”

Vladimir Horowitz — “The Lightning Giant”

Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (Владимир Горовиц, 1903–1989) was born in Kyiv (now Ukraine) to a Jewish family. He was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.

Life

• 1 October 1903 — Born in Kyiv (a wealthy Jewish family)
• 1912–1919 — Kyiv Conservatory; studies with Felix Blumenfeld (a pupil of Anton Rubinstein)
• 1917 Russian Revolution — the family’s property is confiscated
• 1922 — Debut in Kharkov — 25 concertos in a single evening, a legendary feat
• 1925 — Leaves the Soviet Union; Berlin, London, Paris
• 12 January 1928 — New York debut at Carnegie Hall, a triumph
• 1933 — Marries Wanda, the daughter of Arturo Toscanini
• 1953–1965 — Withdraws from concert life for 12 years (nervous breakdown)
• 9 May 1965 — Return recital at Carnegie Hall, the event of the century
• 20 April 1986 — Concerts in the Soviet Union (Moscow, Leningrad) for the first time in 60 years — a symbol of the Cold War thaw
• 5 November 1989 — Dies in New York at 86

“Lightning Fingers”

Horowitz’s playing was famed as “lightning-fast, dazzling sound”:

• A flat-fingered attack — a distinctive technique considered “incorrect” in modern piano pedagogy
• Extremely powerful attack; huge dynamic range
• Insane speed
• Unpredictable rubato and tempo shifts

Expressive gestures said to be “unplayable by anyone but Horowitz.”

Main Repertoire

• Rachmaninoff — Horowitz was Rachmaninoff’s “son-in-law in spirit”; the definitive interpretation of the Third Concerto
• Chopin — Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Ballades
• Liszt — Sonata in B minor, transcriptions
• Scriabin — Sonatas, Études
• Schumann — Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana
• Scarlatti — selections from the 500 sonatas

Three Retirements and Returns

Horowitz withdrew from concerts repeatedly, felled by nervous breakdowns:

• 1936–1938 (2 years)
• 1953–1965 (12 years) — “the silent Horowitz”
• 1969–1974 (5 years)
• 1983–1985 (2 years)

The extreme swing between “can play” and “cannot play” was a hallmark of Horowitz. His return recital at Carnegie Hall in 1965 was one of the great musical events of the 20th century.

“Toscanini’s Son-in-Law”

In 1933 Horowitz married Wanda Toscanini (1907–1998), daughter of the great conductor Arturo Toscanini — a “royal marriage” of the music world:

• Wanda was an independent musician who supported Horowitz her whole life
• Their only daughter Sonia (1934–1975) — died young by suicide
• Horowitz and Wanda lived in a townhouse behind Carnegie Hall and carried the tragedy of their daughter through their years together

The Steinway “Horowitz Piano”

Horowitz played a specially adjusted Steinway D, CD75 (its serial number). He flew it around the world on tour. It is still kept at Steinway’s New York factory and used for special performances.

Sviatoslav Richter — “The Soviet Giant”

Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter (Святослав Рихтер, 1915–1997) was born in Zhytomyr, Ukraine (of German descent). One of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, alongside Horowitz.

Life

• 20 March 1915 — Born in Zhytomyr
• 1937 — Enters the Moscow Conservatory (at 22, late); studies with Heinrich Neuhaus
• 1945 — Wins the All-Soviet Piano Competition
• 1949 — Stalin Prize
• 15 October 1960 — At 45, his first concert in the US (Carnegie Hall) is a sensation
• 1 August 1997 — Dies in Moscow at 82

“The Unknown Giant from the East”

When Richter emerged from behind the Iron Curtain for the first time in 1960 at 45, the West was struck by “the unknown Soviet giant”:

• Legend already comparable to Caruso or Chaliapin
• Technique and musicianship of the very highest order
• Modest, introspective, “hated recording”

“Deeper than Horowitz, broader than Gould” — the modern verdict.

An Enormous Repertoire

Richter played almost the entire piano repertoire of the world:

• Bach, the Well-Tempered Clavier complete (48 pieces)
• Beethoven — sonatas, concertos, chamber music
• Schubert — impromptus, sonatas, chamber music
• Schumann, Chopin, Brahms
• Liszt, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff
• Debussy, Ravel
• Prokofiev sonatas, Bartók, Hindemith
• Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky

“It’s quicker to list what he didn’t play” — an enormous cabinet.

“Hated Recording”

Richter detested studio recording:

• Preferred live
• Never played the same piece with the same interpretation
• “Music is a thing of the moment”

Many of the great “recordings” of Richter are live excerpts from concerts. His playing has the immediacy of “a performance never given twice”.

Connections to the Previous Article on Rachmaninoff and Scriabin

• World premiere of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7 (1943; Richter at 28)
• World premiere of the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 5 (1943; Prokofiev was to have played but was ill; Richter took his place)

“A living witness to 20th-century Soviet music.”

Glenn Gould — “The Poet-Eccentric of Bach”

Glenn Herbert Gould (1932–1982) was born in Toronto, Canada; he died of a stroke at 50. The most singular pianist of the 20th century, world-famous especially for his Bach.

Life

• 25 September 1932 — Born in Toronto (son of Albert Edward Gould; later took his mother’s family name)
• 1946 — At 13, graduates from the Toronto Conservatory
• 25 June 1955 — At 22, records the Goldberg Variations at Columbia’s studio — “the debut album of the century”
• 1957 — Concerts in the Soviet Union, a musical bridge across the Cold War
• 10 April 1964 — At 32, retires from public concerts with a last recital in Los Angeles
• 1964–1982 — Studio recordings only; produces CBC radio documentaries
• April–May 1981 — Re-records the Goldberg Variations (digital), “a different performance” 26 years on
• 4 October 1982 — Stroke in Toronto, dead at 50 (four months after the re-recording)

The 1955 Goldberg Variations Recording

Gould, at 22, made his debut recording at Columbia Records: Bach’s Goldberg Variations, BWV 988:

• Extremely fast tempos
• Percussive, crystalline touch
• Contrapuntal lines each fully independent
• Humming while playing (audible on the tape)

This was a great event in the history of music:

• The Goldberg, once a “minor work,” became a world-famous masterpiece
• Overturned conventional Bach playing
• A 22-year-old shook the world

The greatest 20th-century continuation of the Bach revival movement we saw in [Lineage of Western Music] 03.

1964 — Retirement from Public Performance

He retired from the stage at 32, shocking the world:

“The concert hall is a zoo. I will no longer be an animal in it.”

For 18 years thereafter, he made only studio recordings:

• Extensive editing (splicing takes together)
• The pursuit of “the perfect performance”
• Philosophical and literary essays

An extreme practice of the 20th-century tension between “performance art” and “recording art.”

His Unique Posture and Habits

Gould was highly eccentric:

• Sat on a low chair his father built — “table-height low”
• Wore layers of gloves to warm his hands
• Kept a winter coat, gloves, and scarf on even in summer
• Hummed while he played (a torment for engineers)
• Depended on psychiatrists; took a great many drugs
• Was reclusive and mainly kept in touch by telephone

The archetypal “eccentric pianist.” Some argue he had a psychiatric condition.

The 1981 Goldberg Re-recording

Twenty-six years later, Gould re-recorded the Goldberg:

• 1955 version — fast, young, brilliant
• 1981 version — slow, meditative, profound

He died on 4 October 1982, months after the re-recording. Some see it as “a valediction he sensed.”

Main Repertoire

• Bach — the world’s leading authority: Goldberg, Well-Tempered Clavier, Inventions, Partitas, and more
• Beethoven — the complete 32 sonatas at his own slower tempos
• Mozart — deliberately unconventional performances (polarising)
• Schoenberg, Berg — deep sympathy for 20th-century atonal music
• Brahms Intermezzi — profound

He refused to play Chopin, Liszt, or Rachmaninoff — deliberately rejecting “the flashy Romantics.”

Films and Books

• Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993, dir. François Girard) — a Canadian film
• Thomas Bernhard’s novel The Loser and many other works of literature

“The most-discussed pianist of the 20th century.”

Martha Argerich — “The Goddess of Fire”

Martha Argerich (1941–) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The greatest female pianist of the late 20th century, still active today.

Life

• 5 June 1941 — Born in Buenos Aires (of Jewish descent)
• 1946 — Public debut at 5
• 1955 — At 14, the family moves to Europe; studies with Friedrich Gulda in Vienna
• 1957 — Wins the Geneva and Busoni International Competitions at 16
• 1965 — Wins the Chopin International Competition at 24
• 1980 — On the jury when Stanislav Bunin won; Argerich resigned in protest at Ivo Pogorelich’s elimination
• The 2020s — Still performing in her 80s

“Fire-and-Flame Playing”

Argerich’s playing is one of fierce passion, overwhelming technique, and unpredictability:

• Extremely fast tempi
• Strong rubato
• Overwhelming octaves and chords
• Excited expression

Called “the pianist who could set the piano on fire.” The greatest woman pianist of our time.

Prefers Chamber Music and Concertos to Solo

Argerich dislikes solo recitals and centres her career on concertos and chamber music:

• She prefers to play with others
• “Loneliness frightens me”
• “Recitals make me nervous”

Frequent duo and trio partners: Nelson Freire, Mahan Esfahani, Barenboim, Kremer, Maisky and others.

Main Repertoire

• Chopin — Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, sonatas, smaller works
• Ravel — Concerto in G, Gaspard de la nuit
• Prokofiev — Concerto No. 3
• Tchaikovsky — Concerto No. 1
• Bach — Partitas, Toccatas
• Chamber music — Schubert’s “Trout,” Debussy’s En blanc et noir, Bartók, Shostakovich

The Beppu Argerich Music Festival

In 1998 she founded the music festival at Beppu in Ōita, Japan, supporting young musicians. A major influence on contemporary Japanese classical culture.

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920–1995) was born in Brescia, Italy. The apex of perfectionism, “the greatest craftsman of sound of the 20th century.”

Characteristics

• Extremely few recordings or concerts; frequent cancellations
• Obsessive attention to tuning, humidity, and lighting
• A perfect sound, a crystalline touch
• A small repertoire — Bach, Chopin, Scarlatti, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninoff (concertos), Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart

“A pianist who would not play, in pursuit of perfection.” Half his recitals were cancelled — in the age of livestreams and social media he would have gone bankrupt.

Other Great 20th-Century Pianists

Alfred Brendel (1931–2025)

Czech → UK. An authority on Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, an intellectual player. Recorded the complete 32 Beethoven sonatas three times, worldwide respect. Also a poet and essayist.

Maurizio Pollini (1942–2024)

Born in Milan. Won the Chopin Competition in 1960 at 18 (unanimously), then withdrew from concerts for ten years to retrain. Idealistic and precise. Also devoted to contemporary music (Nono, Stockhausen). Died 2024.

Wilhelm Kempff (1895–1991)

German. A poetic Beethoven, Schumann, and Schubert; long-lived (96).

Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969)

German. A weighty Beethoven; a titan of the first half of the 20th century.

Rudolf Serkin (1903–1991)

Bohemia → US. Deep Brahms and Beethoven; also an eminent teacher.

Claudio Arrau (1903–1991)

Chile. A profound Beethoven, Brahms, and Chopin.

Emil Gilels (1916–1985)

Soviet Odesa. A Soviet titan alongside Richter; aimed at complete cycles but died too early.

Radu Lupu (1945–2022)

Romania. An introspective Schubert and Brahms, “the hidden master.”

Uchida Mitsuko (1948–)

Japan → UK. A crystalline Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann. Studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London; Artistic Director of the Salzburg Music Festival (from 2019). A great female pianist of world stature — the 21st-century Clara Schumann of the earlier series [Lineage of Western Music].

Evgeny Kissin (1971–)

Soviet Moscow. At 12 played both Chopin concertos in one evening; a prodigy and a great star at the turn of the 21st century.

Daniil Trifonov (1991–)

Russia → US. A young 21st-century star; complete cycles of Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff.

Three Lineages of 20th-Century Pianists

The German-Austrian Lineage

• Leschetizky (Vienna, Liszt’s pupil) → Schnabel, Paderewski, Hans von Bülow
• Clara Schumann → the lineage of women pianists
• → Kempff, Backhaus, Brendel, Uchida Mitsuko

The Russian Lineage

• Anton Rubinstein → Rachmaninoff, Josef Lhévinne, Godowsky
• Neuhaus (Kyiv → Moscow) → Richter, Gilels, and on through the 20th century
• Horowitz, Ashkenazy, Pletnev, Kissin, Matsuev, Trifonov

The French-Italian Lineage

• Cortot, Marguerite Long → Haskil, Samson François
• → Michelangeli, Pollini, Argerich

The Shift of the “Record Age”

• 1900–1940 — SP records, 78 rpm, short pieces
• 1948–1980 — LPs, the age of complete recordings (Beethoven sonata cycles and the like)
• 1980–2000 — the CD age, digital, mass output
• From 2005 — YouTube, Spotify, “the world moved by live videos”

The 20th century’s “world-famous pianist through records” → the 21st century’s “world-famous pianist through YouTube.” Fujita Mao and Sorita Kyōhei are typical of this shift.

The Lineage of Women Pianists

From Clara Schumann (1819–1896) of the [Lineage of Western Music] series through Argerich and Uchida Mitsuko:

• Clara Schumann (1819–1896)
• Teresa Carreño (1853–1917) — Venezuela
• Teresa Studzińska-Muntz (1907–1965) — Poland
• Clara Haskil (1895–1960) — Romania → Switzerland
• Rosalyn Tureck (1913–2003) — US; Bach
• Argerich (1941–)
• Uchida Mitsuko (1948–)
• Maria João Pires (1944–) — Portugal
• Hélène Grimaud (1969–) — France
• Yuja Wang (1987–) — Chinese
• Alice Sara Ott (1988–) — Japanese German

Modern Impact

• The recording industry — a major 20th-century revenue source; contracting in the 21st
• Public concerts — still the core of classical culture
• International competitions — Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Cliburn, Leeds, ARD, Hamamatsu, Sendai, etc.
• Education — masterclasses; festivals (Verbier, La Roque d’Anthéron, La Folle Journée, Beppu Argerich)

From This Article to the Next

We have traced the great pianists of the 20th century. The next article — the final one in the piano series — turns to pianists of the contemporary age (2000–2025). Evgeny Kissin (1971–), Lang Lang (1982–), Yuja Wang (1987–), Tsujii Nobuyuki (1988–), Fujita Mao (1998–), and Kamei Masaya (2001–) of the current generation; the fusion with jazz piano (Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Uehara Hiromi, Chick Corea); and the pianist in the age of YouTube and social media. We survey the present of 21st-century pianism and bring the 300-year lineage to a close.