I was watching Mr. Horowitz play and noticed (again) that he holds his hands and fingers very flat. Some distant memory of childhood lessons seemed to be telling me that the fingers should be curved.

So I did a quick search on "VLADIMIR HOROWITZ finger technique" and found a few things, including the following .

"Hi all!

I was recently watching different professional pianists play on youtube. I looked at Martha Argerich, Kissin, Glenn Gould, Rubenstein, Richter, Giels, Lang Lang, and of course Horowitz. I noticed, that each pianist had different habits or techniques that only they used. For example, Gould swung his torso in a circular motion, and Lang Lang had his wrists up and his fingers curved.

However, Horowitz stood out to me. He disobeyed all the "common" piano technique rules. He looked very stiff and still, with only his head, arms, and fingers moving. He possesses a "flat-fingered" technique, where his hands are literally flat. He is looking at his hands the entire time, when we were taught to look at the piano or the music (if there was any).

Now, I know that once you become a great pianist like Horowitz, you can do whatever you want, but I wonder. Did he always play like that? Was that the technique he was taught?

And as a piano teacher, would it be okay to say "Always look at your hands, have your hands flat, be stiff, etc... because Horowitz did."?

Last, many other pianists, move their bodies to the music, especially in emotional pieces. Is that correct? I know that I'm probably going to get an answer like "It depends on your style" or "Do whatever you like" or even "Whatever you piano teacher says". But I'll ask anyway. Should a student try to play like Horowitz's style or should they play in a "normal and correct" style?"

In the comments sections someone says:

"Horowitz,s technique may have developed over time.

He sits low stooped over the keyboard with his hand flat and his wrists low down almost as if he was hooking his hands onto the keyboard.

This position enables great leverage to be applied to the keyboard as the natural weight of the arms is brought fully into use.

The flat fingered splayed hand position maximises key coverage and minimises the distances required to cover notes."

In browsing the topic one finds that Horowitz's method is called the "flat fingered technique" and that there is a lot of controversy online about whether curved fingers or flat fingers is the best.

Even Wikipedia mentions Horowitz's flat fingers:

"Horowitz's hand position was unusual in that the palm was often below the level of the key surface. He frequently played chords with straight fingers, and the little finger of his right hand was often curled up until it needed to play a note; to Harold C. Schonberg, "it was like a strike of a cobra." For all the aural excitement of his playing, Horowitz rarely raised his hands higher than the piano's fallboard. His body was immobile, and his face seldom reflected anything other than intense concentration."

Here is a search link for "piano flat finger technique" .