Horowitz’s stringent requirements

When Vladimir Horowitz performed in Japan:

…. a kitchen had to be built in his suite because he insists that all his meals – fish or chicken only – be taken there. The electrical wiring ran afoul of Tokyo fire laws, requiring new wallpaper and a special floor.

Several critics suggested in a music journal that the money might have been better spent to help victims of a recent earthquake in northern Japan.

”You should grumble at the management, not me,” the pianist replied when told of these remarks. ”I didn’t even know the prices until I got here.”

Clyde Haberman, “3,500 Japanese Applaud Horowtiz for 14 Minutes”, The New York Times, June 13, 1983, https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/13/arts/3500-japanese-applaud-horowitz-for-14-minutes.html, accessed 22 June 2020.

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