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Arthur Rubinstein

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Arthur Rubinstein, called Artur in Poland, was a Polish and later American pianist. He was born in 1887 in Łódź, the youngest of seven children. Even as a child he had perfect pitch and at the age of four caught the attention of the violinist Joseph Joachim. At ten he went to Berlin to study, and at thirteen he played for the first time with the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 1904 he settled in Paris, where he met Ravel and Dukas. In 1906 he made his debut at Carnegie Hall.

Music and breakthrough

Rubinstein performed in public for eighty years. He was known as a soloist and as a chamber musician and worked with, among others, Jascha Heifetz, Pablo Casals and Gregor Piatigorsky. During the war years he lived in Los Angeles and in 1946 became an American citizen. For Hollywood he played the piano music in Song of Love. The film Arthur Rubinstein, the Love of Life won an Oscar for best documentary in 1969. He recorded much of the core repertoire, especially the Romantics, and was highly praised as an interpreter of Chopin, of whom he recorded almost everything except the études. He also held Spanish and South American composers such as Albéniz, Falla and Villa-Lobos in high regard. In 1976, at the age of eighty-nine, he gave his farewell concert at Wigmore Hall in London.

Influence

His playing was regarded as warm, natural and driven by a zest for life, and he memorised a great deal. Rubinstein showed that classical music could also reach a large audience, and his recordings from the 1940s and 1950s have become, for many listeners, their first introduction to the piano concerto.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a piano concerto played by Rubinstein, for example Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 from 1947. Notice how the piano sings in the quiet passages and how power and softness alternate.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists