Arthur Rubinstein

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For the 19th century Russian pianist and composer, see Anton Rubinstein.
Arthur Rubinstein
photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937
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 1900-1976

Artur [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.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Artur Rubinstein was born on January 28, 1887, the eldest son of a businessman from the large Jewish community of Łódź, Congress Poland, today's Poland. He was not related to the earlier Russian pianist-composer Anton Rubinstein, nor his Polish near contemporary, the cosmetics giant Helena Rubinstein.

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]

Beginning at the piano when he was still two years of age, Rubinstein first studied in Warsaw. At the age of four he played for the great German violinist Joseph Joachim who was greatly impressed and began to play the role of mentor for the young prodigy. By age ten Rubinstein moved to Berlin to continue his studies. In 1900, at the age of thirteen, he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic, followed by appearances in Germany and Poland and further study with Karl Heinrich Barth. In 1904, he moved to Paris to launch his career in earnest. There 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. Through the family of Juliusz Wertheim (to whose understanding of Chopin's genius he attributed his own inspiration in the works of that composer[vague]) he formed a friendship with the violinist Paweł Kochański, which led later to artistic and social involvement with Karol Szymanowski.[3]

Rubinstein made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1906, and thereafter toured the United States, Austria, Italy, and Russia. According to his own testimony and that of his son in François Reichenbach's film L'Amour de la vie (1969), however, he was not well received in the United States, and in 1907, when he found himself destitute and desperate in a Berlin hotel room, hounded by creditors and threatened with being thrown out into the street, he tried to hang himself, but failed, and then felt "reborn" with a great love of life. In 1912, he made his London debut, and was frequently in London until 1914 in the musical salon of Paul and Muriel Draper, in company with Kochanski, Stravinsky, Jacques Thibaud, Pablo Casals, Pierre Monteux and others.[4]

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.

After 1914 Rubinstein never again played in Germany.

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.

In 1921 he made two American tours, travelling to New York with Paweł Kochański (who remained his lifelong friend) and Karol Szymanowski. The autumn voyage was the occasion of Kochański's permanent migration to the USA.[5]

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 repertoire. 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, the Germans looted his home in Paris, and his career became centered in the United States. 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 became a naturalized citizen in 1946. He refused to play in post-war Germany because of the Nazi extermination of most of his family. While never becoming an observant Jew, he was a passionate supporter of Israel. 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. 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.[6]

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 a Tony Award winning actor.[7] 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 was proud of being a Jew and was a great friend of Israel, which he visited several times with his wife and children, giving concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, recitals, and master classes at the Jerusalem Music Center. In his will, he asked to be buried in Jerusalem. Rubinstein died in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 20, 1982, at the age of 95, and his body was cremated. On the first anniversary of his death, an urn holding his ashes was buried in Jerusalem, 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. Israel now has an Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society which holds the triennial Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition [8]

[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 include many of Chopin's solo works, have been released on compact disc.

[edit] Honours and awards

Sculpture of Artur Rubinstein on Piotrkowska Street in Łódź
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. ^ Sachs 1997,
  4. ^ Sachs, ibid.
  5. ^ Sachs 1997, 200-212.
  6. ^ Artur Rubinstein, My Young Years, quoted in Norman Lebrecht, The Book of Musical Anecdotes
  7. ^ John Rubinstein Biography. filmreference (2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
  8. ^ 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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Léonie Sonning Music Prize Laureates
1959–1980

Igor Stravinsky (1959) · Leonard Bernstein (1965) · Birgit Nilsson (1966) · Witold Lutosławski (1967) · Benjamin Britten (1968) · Boris Christoff (1969) · Sergiu Celibidache (1970) · Arthur Rubinstein (1971) · Yehudi Menuhin (1972) · Dmitri Shostakovich (1973) · Andrés Segovia (1974) · Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1975) · Mogens Wöldike (1976) · Olivier Messiaen (1977) · Jean-Pierre Rampal (1978) · Janet Baker (1979) · Marie-Claire Alain (1980)
1981–2000

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2001–present

Anne-Sophie Mutter (2001) · Alfred Brendel (2002) · György Kurtág (2003) · Keith Jarrett (2004) · John Eliot Gardiner (2005) · Yo-Yo Ma (2006) · Lars Ulrik Mortensen (2007) · Arvo Pärt (2008)