Ruth Slenczynska - My Life In Music

The last living student of the great Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachaminoff, Ruth Slenczynska, who recorded for the Decca Gold label in the 1950s and '60s, returns to the label nearly 60 years later with the release of a brand new solo piano album titled "My Life in Music" in 2021. The album celebrates her remarkable life and career as a pianist, which began as a child prodigy in the 1920s and continues nine decades later. Born in Sacramento, California, in 1925 to Polish immigrants, Slenczynska made her concert debut at age four (just as the world was entering the Great Depression), performed on television at age five, and made her European concert debut in Berlin at age six. Ninety-two years later, the extraordinary pianist is still performing for audiences around the world. As a child, Ruth Slenczynska was taught by some of the most famous pianists in history. My Life in Music is inspired by Slenczynska's personal relationships with Rachmaninoff and American composer Samuel Barber, who was her classmate and friend. Slenczynska heard Barber's now world-famous Adagio for Strings in the classroom even before it bore its title. Slenczynska also explores the music of Chopin on the new album, including a piece she performed at a memorial service for one of the greatest pianists of all time, Vladimir Horowitz, a lifelong friend. Chopin's music formed Slenczynska's musical foundation: her father had her play all 24 etudes every morning before breakfast. Slenczynska later earned a reputation as one of the most famous Chopin interpreters. The album also features pieces by Debussy, Grieg and Bach, which for her evoke memories of some of her great piano mentors: Egon Petri, Alfred Cortot and Josef Hoffman.

Price: $22.98

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