Arthur Rubinstein

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For the 19th century Russian pianist and composer, see Anton Rubinstein.
Arthur Rubinstein
Image:Arturrubenstein.jpg
photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937
Background information
Born January 28 1887
Łódź, Congress Poland
Died December 20 1982 (age 95)
Geneva, Switzerland
Genre(s) Classical
Occupation(s) Pianist
Instrument(s) Piano
Years active 1900-1982

Arthur Rubinstein KBE (January 28 1887 – December 20 1982) was a Polish-American pianist who is widely considered as one of the greatest piano virtuosi of the 20th Century. He received international acclaim for his performances of Frédéric Chopin and Johannes Brahms and his championing of Spanish music. He was not related to the earlier Russian pianist-composer Anton Rubinstein nor the cosmetics giant Helena Rubinstein.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Rubinstein was born in Łódź, Congress Poland, today's Poland, in a Jewish family. Aside from his early and singular fascination with the piano, another interesting childhood trait is that Rubinstein didn't begin speaking until some time around the age of three. Until the time that he developed speech, Rubinstein would entertain his family by imitating non-speech sounds.[1] The descriptions of Rubinstein's delayed speech, his early childhood tantrums and his later virtuosity closely follow a similar pattern of development of other famous late-talkers, such as fellow pianist Clara Schumann and physicist (and sometimes-musician) Albert Einstein, among others.[2]

Rubinstein studied in Warsaw. He made his debut in Berlin in 1900, followed by appearances in Germany and Poland and further study with Karl Heinrich Barth. In 1904, he went to Paris, where he met the composers Maurice Ravel, Paul Dukas, and the violinist Jacques Thibaud. He also played Camille Saint-Saëns' Piano Concerto No. 2 in the presence of the composer.

Rubinstein made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1906, and thereafter toured the United States, Austria, Italy, and Russia. In 1912, he made his London debut.

During World War I Rubinstein lived mainly in London, accompanying the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. From 1916 to 1917, he toured Spain and South America, developing an enthusiasm for the music of Enrique Granados, Isaac Albéniz, Manuel de Falla, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. He was the dedicatee of Villa-Lobos's Rudepoêma and Stravinsky's Trois mouvements de Petrouchka.

In 1917, Rubinstein left Cádiz, Spain with his music manager Ernesto de Quesada, on the Infanta Isabel to South America. He debuted on July 2, 1917 in the Teatro Odéon, in Buenos Aires. This tour included concerts in Buenos Aires, Montevideo,Uruguay, Santiago de Chile and Valparaíso, Chile.

Rubinstein made numerous live-recording player piano music rolls for the Aeolian Duo-Art system and the American Piano Company (AMPICO), all of which survive today and can be heard. In 1932, he withdrew from concert life for several months to work on his technique and repertory. Astor Piazzolla cites a Rubinstein concert staged in Buenos Aires in 1939 as one his first great impressions, which led the 18-year-old to write and dedicate to Rubinstein a piano "concerto", a definition that Rubinstein was to debate with the young composer.

During World War II, Rubinstein's career was centered in the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1946. Impresario Sol Hurok insisted Rubinstein be billed as Artur for his American concerts, even though the pianist referred to himself as Arthur when in English speaking countries. He refused to play in post-war Germany because of the Nazi extermination of members of his family. He retired from the stage in 1976, as his eyesight and hearing were rapidly deteriorating. He became almost blind in later life.

Although best known as a recitalist and concerto soloist, Rubinstein was also considered an outstanding chamber musician, partnering with such luminaries as Henryk Szeryng, Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, and the Guarneri Quartet. Of the piano solo repertoire Rubinstein recorded a vast portion, including innumerable Romantic composers. He recorded nearly all the works of Chopin, save the Études. He was one of the earliest champions of the Spanish and South American composers and of French composers who, in the early 20th century, were still considered "modern" such as Debussy and Dukas. In addition, Rubinstein was the first champion of the music of his compatriot Karol Szymanowski. Rubinstein, in conversation with Alexander Scriabin, named Brahms as his favorite composer, a response that enraged Scriabin.[3]

Rubinstein was fluent in eight languages.[1] His photographic memory of much of the repertoire, not simply that of the piano, was formidable.[1] According to his memoirs, the pianist learned César Franck’s Symphonic Variations while on a train en route to the concert, without the benefit of a piano.

[edit] Marriage and death

Rubinstein was married in 1932 to Aniela (Nela) Mlynarska, daughter of conductor Emil Mlynarski and ex-wife of Mieczyslaw Munz. They had four children: their daughter Eva married William Sloane Coffin; their son John Rubinstein is an actor. Rubinstein also fathered a daughter with a South American woman. Rubinstein carried on a series of affairs during his marriage, including with Mary Irene Curzon and, in 1977 at age 90, left his wife for the young Annabelle Whitestone, though he and Nela never divorced.

Rubinstein died in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1982 at age 95. On December 20 1983, first anniversary of his death, an urn holding his ashes was buried in Israel, in a dedicated plot now dubbed "Rubinstein Forest" overlooking the Jerusalem Forest. This was arranged with the rabbis so that the main forest wouldn't fall under religious laws governing cemeteries.[4]

[edit] Recordings

Rubenstein recorded extensively for RCA Victor, making a large number of chamber, concerto and solo recordings from 1928 to 1976. He recorded Edvard Grieg's piano concerto with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra in the 78-rpm format. He also recorded all five of Beethoven's piano concertos thrice, including the first stereophonic set with Josef Krips and the Symphony of the Air in 1956. All of his recordings, which including much of Chopin's solo works, have been released on compact disc.

[edit] Honours and awards

Image:Pomnik Rubisteina Lodz.jpg
Sculpture of Artur Rubinstein on Piotrkowska Street in Łódź

In 1977, he was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE).

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra):

Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994)

[edit] Bibliography

  • Rubinstein, Artur (1973). My Young Years. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0394468902. 
  • Rubinstein, Artur (1980). My Many Years. New York: New York. ISBN 0394422538. 
  • Sachs, Harvey (1995). Rubinstein, a Life. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 0802115799. 

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Sachs, Harvey (1995). Rubinstein: A Life. New York: Grove Press, p. 8. ISBN 0802115799. 
  2. ^ Sowell, Thomas (2001). The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late. Basic Books, pp. 89-150. ISBN 0465081401. 
  3. ^ Artur Rubinstein, My Young Years, quoted in Norman Lebrecht, The Book of Musical Anecdotes
  4. ^ Associated Press. "Arthur Rubinstein Remains Are Buried in Jerusalem Plot", The New York Times, 22 Dec 1983. Retrieved on 2007-08-27. 

[edit] External links

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