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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Are Choirmasters Allowed To Have A Bad Day?

Jeff Ostrowski · November 26, 2019

80746-valdimir-horowitz-rach-3-in-1941 LADIMIR HOROWITZ was certainly among the greatest virtuosi of all time. From a purely musical standpoint, he never reached the level of Josef Hofmann, but when Horowitz was in his prime—1928 to 1953—his technique and repeated notes were comparable (perhaps) to Hofmann’s. Moreover, some recordings by Horowitz have never been surpassed: e.g. his Sousa March, his improvements to the Liszt Hungarian Second, his Chopin op. 55 no. 2, his Mendelssohn-Liszt Wedding Variations, and so on. With regard to Rachmaninov’s 3rd Concerto, Horowitz was responsible for its extreme popularity today. Vladimir reached the pinnacle of his career on 4 May 1941 in Carnegie Hall. With Sir John Barbirolli conducting, he played the D Minor Piano Concerto (“Rach3”) with the New York Philharmonic, and a secret recording was made. For years, this was a rare collector’s item, since it was “pirated.” In the late 1990s, I received a cassette copy from Dr. Ates Tanin in Canada—which I guarded with my life—but today the entire performance can be heard on YouTube. By 1941, Horowitz had been playing Rach3 for 23 years, since he claims to have begun learning it when he was 15 or 16. 1 The 1941 performance has never been surpassed: not by Argerich, not by Rachmaninov, not by Gieseking, not by Horowitz himself. At the very end, a man in the audience yells “Bravo,” and this was truly a glorious moment. 2

AS A MUSIC DIRECTOR, have you ever had a bad day? During Mass, have you been disappointed by your playing, or conducting, or your choir’s singing? At times like that, remember that even someone as stupendous as Horowitz occasionally has bad days. Indeed, one of his 1983 concerts was particularly bad—with tons of memory lapses, incoherencies, and wrong notes. For this concert alone, Horowitz received more than $1 million dollars: an insanely high fee in the 1980s. Listen to an excerpt from that concert:

    * *  Mp3 Download • 1983 Concert (“Live”) by Horowitz

For purposes of comparison, here’s the same piece, recorded “live” when I was in high school:

    * *  Mp3 Download • 1999 Concert (“Live”) by Jeff Ostrowski

Needless to say, the skill of Horowitz is not in question; when he was in grade school, Horowitz could play better than I ever will. The point is, everyone has bad days.

Next time something goes really wrong, remember that 1983 concert by Horowitz.

Say to yourself: “Nobody is perfect!”  And make it better next time.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   He was born around 1903 somewhere in the Ukraine. I say “around” because there are serious discrepancies regarding his birthplace (Berdychiv vs. Kiev) and—for a long time—the year of his birth. For example, when he made his debut in Germany (1926), he pretended to be 20 years old, because it made his skills seem more impressive, even though he was actually about 23. Most of the official books placed his birth year at 1904, but eventually Horowitz admitted that he lied about the true year (1903) to avoid military service in the Soviet Union. Indeed, Horowitz often lied during interviews later in life, and finding the truth can be difficult. Horowitz even lied about the recording of his famous “Historic Return” to Carnegie Hall in 1965: the “live” recording of the Schumann Fantasy Coda was secretly doctored, with wrong notes repaired.

2   When you have time, read the story of Sir John Barbirolli, Albert Victor Alexander, and Winston Churchill during WWII—it’s fascinating.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The sun’s disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad whirl, when suddenly a clamor was heard from all the people. The sun, whirling, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was terrible.”

— ‘Dr. Almeida Garrett, professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra (1917)’

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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