Vladimir Horowitz Piano Technique

"Technique, the Outgrowth of Musical Thought." (an interview with Vladimir Horowitz), Etude Magazine, 50 (March, 1932), 163-164

Ingredients of the technique

1. His early technical training

2. Sight reading, both solo and duet repertoire

3. He was not taught technique

4. "I only know that in the music itself I found out what the fingers had to do"

5. Nothing mechanical helps the technique

6. Formal exercises are bad for the ear and touch. They are not alive and are merely mechanical
   

a. Scales, arpeggios, octaves and chords


1. Use the 5th finger to guide the hand
2. Each tone must lead to the last one


b. Strength


1. For strength, imagine the fingers singing
2. Strength comes from playing musically
3. Every finger must feel it's tone


c. Voicing

1. Relax the wrist
2. Connect the melodic note to the hand
3. Let your wrist feel the movement
4. "The finger must have a consciousness of the movement which makes the singing melody"