Horbowski-Zaranek (known in Germany simply as Vladimir Horbowski) was born in Tbilisi into a family of Polish and Ukrainian-Georgian nobles who left Russia and went into exile in Brussels in 1921 after the October Revolution.
After Kreutzer was driven from his teaching post by the Nazi government in 1933 and emigrated to Japan, Horbowski took over the piano class at the Berlin Conservatory.
He developed a teaching method that inspired his students to focus on learning the work by heart, and to concentrate primarily on phrasing, dynamics, pedaling and accurate attention to the score.
He also pioneered a kind of finger movements which allowed to play complex pieces with lesser technical effort.
Numerous students won international competitions and awards, are known as concert pianists and are teaching at conservatories and music schools.