Ruth Slenczynska was born on January 15, 1925, which means that the day of this posting she is celebrating her 96th birthday. The legendary American-born pianist has the distinction of having had lessons with a truly unique combination of legendary pianists: Josef Hofmann, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alfred Cortot, Artur Schnabel, and Egon Petri. As a child prodigy driven by a strict father, she made her name with public appearances beginning at an incredibly young age, even appearing in a Pathé film at the age of 5:

The strain of her father’s abusive insistence on relentless practice, coupled with the toils of public performance with too hectic a schedule for a young child, took its toll and Slenczynska withdrew from public performance at the age of fifteen. She broke from her father and focused on her personal life; however, once she divorced her first husband in 1954, she resumed her career and began producing a number of records for the American Decca label, many also released on Deutsche Grammophon.

These discs have just received their first comprehensive reissue in a stunning 10-CD set by Eloquence that is a model release: with CD sleeves reproducing the original LP art, wonderful remasterings that find the recordings sounding better than ever, and the beautiful booklet wonderfully adorned with photos and documents, and a superb text by Stephen Siek, this set is a must-have for piano fans. Slenczynska’s pianism throughout is absolutely superb, a marvellous combination of virtuosity and musicality. I was so mesmerized by the playing – much of which I’d heard on YouTube or vinyl – that I listened to the entire set in a single day, flabbergasted by the remarkable playing in more vibrant sound that reveals more of her sonority and nuancing than can be heard online.

Here is one prime example of Slenczynska’s playing in that set: a superb account of Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No.15. What robust tone, burnished lines, dazzling fingerwork, rhythmic buoyancy, and idiomatic timing!

The playing throughout the set is very much inspired by the ‘Golden Age’ in which she was trained and her sensibilities honed, with an emphasis on full-bodied singing tone, forged melodic lines, clear textures, and refined nuancing. We hear the same quality of playing on this television appearance made around the time of her last recording in this set of records (1963), in which she introduces her experience meeting and coaching with Rachmaninoff before playing two Rachmaninoff Preludes (starting around 4:30) with poetry and passion:

Slenczynska has maintained a regular performing and teaching schedule, continuing to perform in into her 90s, with regular tours of Japan being a regular fixture (CoVid put an end to plans for a 2020 visit). Here is some wonderful film footage of her playing Brahms in Korea in 2009 – at the age of 84 – with her full-bodied tone and fluid phrasing on full display:

In coordination with the Eloquence release in her 95th birthday year, Slenczynska gave a fascinating interview for Australian radio in which she recounts over the course of an hour her remarkable personal and musical history. You can listen at the website linked in bold text above or with the embedded link below:

Another remarkable sharing by this great artist comes in this filmed interview in which Slenczynska speaks fondly of her time studying with Josef Hofmann, speaking not only to her training but also about her colleagues Shura Cherkassky and Samuel Barber – utterly fascinating insights!

I only had the opportunity to meet Ms. Slenczynska very briefly and quite unexpectedly in 2019. I was in San Jose attending a Benjamin Grosvenor recital and after the concert a friend came up to me and told me that Ruth Slenczynska had attended and was on her way out of the auditorium. He pointed me in the right direction and I ran up to her, introduced myself, and I sat down next to her (that brought us to about the same height) and we chatted for a few minutes. Somehow we had shaken hands upon meeting and I think I held her hand the whole time we spoke, as she smiled throughout our brief conversation and was extremely gracious.

This page was created when Ruth Slenczynska was 96, and in the summer of 2023 when she was 98 I recorded my own interview with the pianist to discuss in one place something that I think had been overlooked: her experience with all five of her legendary teachers. In other interviews she had talked extensively about Hofmann and Rachmaninoff, but not so much about her time with Egon Petri, Alfred Cortot, and Artur Schnabel. We spent an illuminating hour discussing her experience meeting these amazing artists and what she learned from them – and there are a couple of jaw-dropping insights if you listen carefully!

Ruth Slenczynska is the last of her generation of pianists, with a lineage that extends back along several key pianistic lineages. We are fortunate that she is still with us and as active as  she is, and that the best of her recorded legacy is now readily available.