Russian pianist Vladimir Horowitz was BOTD in 1903. Born in Kiev, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), he started piano lessons at nine, giving his first solo recital when he was 17. He quickly became a national celebrity, touring Russia in the 1920s before emigrating to Berlin. In 1928, he took New York by storm, demonstrating phenomenal technique and an instinctive ability to communicate with his audiences. In 1933, he first performed with Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, beginning a long and successful musical partnership. He eventually settled in the United States, becoming a citizen in 1944. Despite his success and celebrity status, he withdrew from public performances for sustained periods throughout his life, focusing on recordings for Columbia Records and Deutsche Grammophon. His public profile was also boosted by television recordings and appearances throughout the 1960s. Horowitz married Toscanini’s daughter Wanda in 1933, with whom he had a daughter. He struggled with his homosexuality for much of his life, seeing a psychiatrist in the 1940s to attempt to cure himself, and having discreet relationships with men, including his assistant Kenneth Leedom. Music critic David Dubal theorised that Horowitz sublimated his sexuality into his playing, creating a powerful erotic undercurrent that thrilled his audiences. In 1986, Horowitz returned to the Soviet Union for a series of concerts, followed by a rapturously received European tour. Later that year, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honour. He died in 1989, aged 86. Now regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, his homosexuality continues to be suppressed in discussions of his life and work.