Who is Vladimir Horowitz from The Great Pianists and what is their importance?

Vladimir Horowitz is the name of one of the last two pianists who remained loyal to the romanticist tradition after World War II. Horowitz was a legend in his own time and regularly sold out audiences. Horowitz appeared in Hamburg as a stand in pianist. His opening cadenza made such an impact that orchestra conductor Eugen Pabst left the podium to watch Horowitz' hands and the "audience went wild." Horowitz made his American debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1928, but the conductor Sir Thomas Beecham was inattentive to Horowitz and directed a tempo slower than he wanted. Horowitz felt the audience lose interest at the slow tempo and sped up in the last movement to play the tempo he wanted. In a burst Horowitz left conductor Beecham and the orchestra to catch up. Critics acclaimed Horowitz a whirlwind as he launched his long, brilliant career.