Stars and Stripes Forewer HOROWIZ Jouni Somero piano @America250

John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) Stars and Stripers Forewer. Arr. Wladimir Horowiz. Jouni Somero piano. Recorded 10.1.1998. www.jounisomero.com Order ‪@JouniSomeroMusic‬ Origin: Horowitz created this piano transcription in 1945 to celebrate the end of World War II and to honor his new home, the United States. The "Three-Hand" Illusion: The arrangement is famously complex. Horowitz managed to play the driving march rhythm, the main melody, and the high-pitched piccolo obligato all at the same time, making it sound as if three or four hands were playing at once. No Written Score: Horowitz never wrote the arrangement down; he played it entirely from memory and altered it slightly during performances. Modern pianists have had to transcribe it by ear from old recordings. A Victim of its Own Success: It became such an overwhelming audience favorite that Horowitz eventually stopped performing it in the 1950s, frustrated that it was overshadowing the rest of his classical repertoire. Today, it remains one of the ultimate symbols of piano virtuosity and showmanship If you enjoyed this performance, please consider liking the video, leaving a comment, and subscribing to the channel for more classical piano music! www.jounisomero.com Facebook Jouni Somero Pianist Instagram Jouni Somero Official TikTok @jounisomero Award-winning pianist Jouni Somero (b. 12.8.1963) is one of the most active performers among contemporary Finnish musicians – to date he has given over 3,500 concerts across the world. He began playing organ when he was eight years old, but switched to the piano at the age of twelve, studying in Switzerland and at the Music Academy, Cologne under Prof. Herbert Drechsel. He was also mentored by György Cziffra and Michael Ponti. From 1981 to 1989 Somero lived in Germany, working as an assistant at the Music Academy, Düsseldorf. From 1990 Somero has pursued a career solely as a concert pianist. His vast, critically acclaimed discography spans 111 recordings for labels including Naxos, Grand Piano, Sony BMG, Jubal, MILS and FC-Records among others, and includes world premiere recordings of several piano works by Blumenfeld, Godard, Seeling and Reinhold. Somero has also recorded the complete piano works of Bortkiewicz, Tchaikovsky, Kuula and Palmgren as well as the complete piano and chamber music of Salmenhaara. In 2012, his album of works by Rebikov was named piano album of the year by Fanfare magazine. His wide repertoire includes seldom heard music by, among others, Alkan, Godowsky and Rubinstein. He has also made several piano arrangements of orchestral, operatic and pop music, and his YouTube channel has garnered millions of views.