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Arthur Rubinstein 1968-CBS Television.

Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Arthur Rubinstein

Arthur Rubinstein was a Polish-American pianist. Born on 28 January 1887, he is widely considered one of the greatest pianists and Chopin interpreters of his time.  Frederic Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist, one of the greatest in the 19^th-century Romantic era.

Rubinstein had developed an incredible interest in the piano by the time he was 2 years old. He would watch his sister play during her piano lessons, and this fascinated him.

At the age of 4, he started playing piano and violin. In 1894, at age 7, Rubinstein made his debut playing pieces by Mozart and Schubert. He was considered a child prodigy. He went on to perform in public for 8 decades.

Here are the top 10 fascinating Arthur Rubinstein.

1. Arthur Rubinstein was considered a child prodigy by age 4

Arthur Rubinstein 1906-Library of Congress.

Rubinstein was born to a Jewish family in 1887. He resided at Congress Poland, part of the Russian Empire at the time. He was the youngest in a family of 7. At age 2, he showed a particular fascination with the piano, watching his sister take piano lessons.

By the time he was 4 years old, he was considered a child prodigy. On hearing Rubinstein play the violin, Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim was very impressed.

He told his parents that the boy had great talent, and he was willing to direct his artistic skill when it was time. At age 7, Rubinstein played pieces by Mozart and Schubert.

2. His first performance was with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 13

At age 10, Rubinstein moved to Berlin to further his studies. His first public performance was with the Berlin Philharmonic, one of the most popular orchestras in the world. It is a German orchestra based in Berlin. This was in 1900, and Rubinstein was 13 years old.

Joseph Joachim recommended Karl Barth as Rubinstein’s piano teacher. Barth was a notable German pianist. He had been a student of Franz Liszt, a Hungarian composer, and pianist. Liszt had been taught by Czerny, a student of Beethoven. Rubinstein thus inherited a renowned musical lineage as a student of Barth.

3. He moved to Â鶹APP in 1904

Grzegorz Fitelberg, Karol Szymanowski, Artur Rubinstein (1912). Sourced from

Rubinstein moved to Â鶹APP to launch his career in earnest. There, he met composers Paul Dukas, Maurice Ravel and violinist Jacques Thibaud. He also made friendships with violinist Paul Kochanski and composer Karol Szymanowski.

Rubinstein performed one of the most popular pieces by French composer Camille Saint-Saens, Piano Concerto No.2. He played it in his presence.

Rubinstein later made his debut in New York at Carnegie Hall in 1906. He toured the United States thereafter, Austria, Russia, and Italy.

4. He made a failed attempt to hang himself

Rubinstein stated that he was not well received in the United States during his tours. By 1908, he was broke and desperate, almost being evicted from his Berlin hotel room.

It was during this season that he attempted to end his life by hanging himself. His attempt however failed, and interestingly, he later said that he felt ‘reborn’ and full of love towards life.

He made his London debut in 1912, and stayed there through World War I, giving recitals and accompanying violinist Eugene Ysaye.

Rubinstein toured several countries, including Spain. He was wildly acclaimed in South America, and equally, for him, a lifelong passion for the music of Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados and Manuel de Falla developed during his tours there.

5. He made the piano soundtrack for several films

Arthur Rubinstein- Wim Van Rossem.

In 1937, Rubinstein toured the United States again. His career became centered there during World War II. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1946.

While staying in California, he provided the piano soundtrack for several films including ‘Song of Love’ with Katharine Hepburn. He appeared as himself in the films ‘Carnegie Hall’ and ‘Of Men and Music’.

6. He is considered one of the greatest Chopin interpreters

Chopin 1849-Louis Auguste.

Frederick Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist, a leading musician of the Romantic period era. Rubinstein recorded much of the core piano repertoire, especially that of the Romantic composers.

He recorded most of the works of Chopin. In 1964, he gave an incredible concert with a pure Chopin program. At the time of his death, The New York Times wrote, ‘Chopin was his specialty,…and was a Chopinist considered by many without peer.’

7. Rubinstein had an exceptional memory

Rubinstein had impeccable memory and aural abilities. He was fluent in 8 languages, and he held much of the repertoire in his memory.

As relayed in his memoirs, he learned Cesar Franck’s Symphonic Variations while on the train, without a piano by just practicing on his lap.

He could play an entire symphony in his mind while having breakfast. His friends would test him by asking him to play extracts from symphonic scores from his memory.

8. He was an active charity supporter

Rubinstein playing piano-Wim Van Rossem.

Rubinstein performed numerous charity concerts to raise funds for organizations that interested him. In 1961, he performed 10 recitals in Carnegie Hall to raise funds for charities including Big Brothers, Polish Assistance, United Jewish Appeal, and the Legal Defense Fund of the National Advancement of Colored People.’

Rubinstein was proud of both his Jewish heritage and Polish association. He performed concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra whenever he visited Israel.

In 1949, he announced that he would not appear with the Chicago if it engaged Wilhelm Furtwangler, who had performed a symphony for Hitler’s birthday.

Rubinstein was enraged by Germany’s conduct in the war and had lost family members during the Holocaust.

In 1945, he showed his patriotism to Poland by playing the country’s national anthem while the audience, including the Soviets, stood. He had been infuriated by the absence of the Polish flag at the inauguration of the United Nations.

9. He died in his sleep at the age of 95

Arthur Rubinstein-Israel Press and Photo Agency.

Rubinstein performed for the public for about eight decades. In his later years, his eyesight began to worsen. His last concert was at London’s Wigmore Hall in May 1976. He retired from the stage at age 89.

On 20 December, he died in his sleep at his home in Geneva. He was 95. His remains were cremated, and on the first anniversary of his death, an urn holding his ashes was buried in Jerusalem. The site is now dubbed ‘Rubinstein Forest.’

In 1974, the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition was established. It is held every 3 years in Israel to promote young pianists.

10. Rubinstein received numerous awards and honors

Rubinstein’s prowess with the piano cannot be overstated. He has received numerous awards, just to mention a few. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the US by President Gerald Ford (1976).

He won the Grammy Awards for Best Chamber Music Performance (1975, 1976), Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (1960, 1978), and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1994). In 2012, he was voted into the Gramophone’s Hall of Fame.