Ruth Slenczynska was born on January 15, 1925 and she is celebrating her 100th birthday on the day this page is being published. The 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: 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 received their first comprehensive reissue in a stunning 10-CD set by Eloquence back in 2020 that is a model release: with CD sleeves reproducing the original LP art, wonderful remasterings that find the recordings sounding better than ever, and a beautiful booklet wonderfully adorned with photos and documents accompanied by 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 mesmerized by so much of what I heard – some of which I’d previously encountered on YouTube or vinyl – that I listened to the entire set in a single day, flabbergasted by the remarkable playing that in more vibrant sound 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 her cycle of studio recordings is very much inspired by the ‘Golden Age’ in which she was trained and her sensibilities honed: we can hear an emphasis on full-bodied singing tone, forged melodic lines, clear textures, and refined nuancing. The same quality of playing can be heard 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 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 as a friend of Don Isler, who had the previous year interviewed her for his book Afterthoughts of a Pianist/Teacher: A Collection of Essays and Interviews (available in print or Kindle here); I sat down next to her and we chatted for a few minutes. Somehow we shook hands upon meeting and I think I held her hand the whole time we spoke, as she smiled throughout our brief conversation – it was an extremely gracious interaction.

Fast-forward to the summer of 2023 when Slenczynska was 98, I filmed my own Zoom interview with the pianist to discuss in one conversation 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 Petri, Cortot, and 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 (including how Rachmaninoff taught her to produce a big sound) if you listen attentively!

A few details worth noting based on some inquiries I made after filming:

A colleague informed me that Ravel did not officially teach but he may have offered some guest appearances at the Conservatoire for his friend Marguerite Long

The Sousa/Souza pianist named in the discussions in Paris is clearly not the John Philip Souza ‘march king’ who lived much earlier; this last name is common amongst the Portuguese and Brazilians, and it is possible that this ‘march’ memory was a reference being made by Ravel and others at the time to a student’s famous namesake. We have not yet identified the full name of this pianist (João de Souza Lima was thought to be a possibility, but he left Paris in 1929, before Slenczynska arrived, and it’s unclear if he visited after that time).

Of significant interest in this conversation is Slenczynska sharing the technique that Rachmaninoff taught her to create a big sound at the keyboard – a fascinating insight!

In 2021, when she was 97, Slenczynska returned to the Decca label to record a CD entitled My Life In Music – here is her introduction to the album.

While one could scarcely expect a pianist at her age to perform with the nth degree of precision or the briskest of tempi, the CD features some truly fantastic pianism. Among the highlights are her recording of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Major Op.32 No.5, with a beauty and depth of her tone absolutely belying her age:

To close this centenary tribute, her recording of Chopin’s Berceuse Op.57 from her latest album. Ruth Slenczynska is the last of her generation of pianists, with a rich pianistic heritage that extends back along several key lineages. We are fortunate that she is still with us and as active as  she is, and that we have so many recordings of her artistry readily available.