ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN (Łódź 28. 1. 1887 – Geneva 20.12. 1982)

He received his first music lessons in Warsaw, where A. Róźycki was his first teacher. He then went to Berlin, where he studied piano under H. Barth and composition with R. Kahn and M. Bruch. He began his career at the age of 12, playing in a concert with orchestra in Berlin under the direction of J. Joachim. Shortly afterwards he performed in Dresden, Hamburg and Warsaw. He wanted to perfect his skills with Paderewski in Morges, Switzerland. This led to an astonishing career as a pianist, during which he was a great performer with a wide repertoire, but was particularly known for his interpretations of Chopin and contemporary Spanish music. In 1905 he played in Paris with the Lamoureux Orchestra; in 1906 he made his first trip to the United States, performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra. During the First World War he gave a series of concerts with E. Ysaÿe. In 1916 he travelled to Spain and then to South America. In 1932 he married the daughter of Emil Młynarski. In 1946 he became an American citizen. In addition to his solo career, for which he was acclaimed worldwide, he was also active as a chamber musician, playing, among others, in trios with the violinist Heifetz and the cellist Feuermann, later replaced by Piatigorsky, as well as in several formations with the Guarneri Quartet. After settling in Beverly Hills, California, he returned to Europe, first to Paris and then to Switzerland. His ashes were taken to Jerusalem. In 1976 he was awarded the ‘United States Medal of Freedom’ and an honorary doctorate in philosophy from the Weizmann Institute in Tel Aviv. In 1979 he was awarded the prize ‘A Life for Music’ in Venice. He was a member of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Numerous compositions were dedicated to him, including H. Villa-Lobos’s Rudepoema, Szymanowski’s Symphonie concertante and M. de Falla’s Fantasía bética. In addition, Stravinsky translated three dances from Petrushka for him and wrote Piano Rag Music.