RUDOLF SERKIN

Born on 28 May 1903 in Eger (Bohemia), Rudolf Serkin is one of the major figures in the history of the piano. As a child prodigy, he received a complete musical education (piano – conducting – composition) before meeting the violinist Adolf Busch. The three Busch brothers (Hermann was a cellist, Fritz a conductor) decided with Serkin to leave Nazi Germany. They settled first in Switzerland and then in the United States from 1933. There Serkin played with Pablo Casals, Arturo Toscanini, Bruno Walter, in short with all the musicians who made American musical life. In the early 1950s, Rudolf Serkin founded the Marlboro Festival and Academy of Music, whose international influence has never waned. It is fair to say that Serkin has never made a mediocre record. His clear, dense sound and the impression that Serkin is helping us to discover the music as he does, make him one of the few ‘philosophers’ of the piano. He died in Guilford on 8 May 1991.