Is Horowitz a genius?

“WITHOUT the composer, the performer would not exist,” Alfred Brendel noted, and “no performer should be called a genius -- certainly not that faker Hatto or even Horowitz.” [“Absurdities of the Keyboard,” March 11] Brendel dared to express his less-than-total enthusiasm for the most legendary of pianists.

Is it not the highest goal of a piano player to make audiences fall in love with the music? Outstanding pianists of the past were proud to be “crowd pleasers.” Audience members were touched, moved to tears and brought to ecstasy. Brendel has a right to dislike Vladimir Horowitz and deny him the status of genius. But for his admirers, Horowitz was a genius and many continue to miss his glorious sound that created pandemonium in the concert halls for more than half a century.

INESSA NIKS

Redlands