Ruth Slenczynska
Famous as a child prodigy, pianist Ruth Slenczynska survived some very difficult early years by withdrawing from concert performance, regrouping to get her life in order, and re-emerging as a mature artist. That the trauma imposed by a demanding father failed to crush her spirit or damage her musicality is a remarkable story. That what is perhaps her finest recording was made at the age of 75 is more remarkable still. After purging the ghosts of a childhood denied her, Slenczynska performed to admiring reviews, wrote a text on piano technique, and became a respected teacher and artist-in-residence. Signing with Decca in 2022 at age 97, Slenczynska issued My Life in Music, exploring her life as a performer and teacher and the connections made throughout her life to the featured composers.
Slenczynska was born in Sacramento, California, on January 15, 1925. Her father, Josef Slenczynski, was a well-known violinist and head of the Warsaw Conservatory before being wounded as a part of the American forces in World War I. As he contemplated his career, now in ruins, he resolved to marry a woman who could assist him in producing a prodigy. He found a Polish woman who agreed to his plan, and the couple moved to California (his choice as having the best climate in which to produce such a child). Within hours of her birth, Ruth was deemed by her father suitable for a career as a violinist or a pianist. Imposing upon her from age three (by which time she already understood basic theory and harmony) a strenuous and demanding routine of study and practice, Josef was delighted by his child's gifts.
By the time she was four, Ruth had already mastered a number of important piano pieces and made her first public appearance at Mills College in Oakland on May 10, 1929. Her European debut took place in Berlin when she was six, leaving the audience in a frenzy and evoking comparisons to Mozart. A similar result followed her Paris recital the next year. Slenczynska's New York debut in 1933 was no less of a triumph, eliciting high praise from Josef Hofmann, who was amazed at her musical understanding. During these years, Slenczynska had occasion to study with Hofmann, as well as such eminent keyboard artists as Artur Schnabel, Alfred Cortot, and Sergei Rachmaninov. The stress of compliance with her father's stifling regimen and the performance schedule he chose for her resulted in a crisis, and in 1940, she abandoned her career for a decade, enrolling at the University of California. There she met another student, George Born, and in 1944 eloped with him. Slenczynska graduated and taught for a time at the College of Our Lady of Mercy in Burlingame, California. In 1951, she returned to the concert stage with a performance at the Carmel Bach Festival, and two years later, Slenczynska and Born were divorced.
In 1954, Slenczynska felt ready to renew her career, albeit at a more manageable pace. Her best-selling autobiography, Forbidden Childhood (written in collaboration with Louis Biancolli), was published in 1957. A volume on piano training, Music at Your Fingertips: Aspects of Pianoforte Technique, was issued in 1961 and remains in print. Amidst an active and rewarding concert career, Slenczynska was engaged in 1964 as artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, retaining the position until 1987 and continuing there as a part-time faculty member. In 1967, she married Dr. James Karr, a professor at S.I.U.E. The pianist's 1999 recording of Schumann for Ivory Classics is beautifully, wisely played.
Slenczynska has continued to perform and teach privately in the 21st century. To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth in 2020, in the midst of the Coronavirus lockdowns, she recorded and uploaded videos of her performing the composer's piano sonatas. The following year, Slenczynska performed at the Polish embassy in New York for the International Chopin & Friends Festival. Marking her 97th birthday in 2022, the Decca label announced a new contract with the famed pianist: Slenczynska had previously recorded for the Decca Gold label in the 1950s and '60s. My Life in Music was issued in 2022 and featured music by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Barber, and others.
© Erik Eriksson & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Chopin: 12 Etudes, Op. 10, Trois Nouvelles Etudes, Berceuse, Op. 57, Three Ecossaises, Op. 72
Classical - Released by Orpheus on 16 Jun 1978
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
My Life in Music
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 18 Mar 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 12 Études, Op. 25; Barcarolle, Op. 60; Tarantella, Op. 43
Classical - Released by Orpheus on 9 Dec 1982
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Carnaval / Kinderszenen / Sonata No. 2
Classical - Released by Ivory Classics on 4 Jul 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 12 Études (Mono Version)
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ruth Slenczynska Plays Chopin And Liszt Live!
Classical - Released by ACA Digital Recording, Inc on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: 13 Preludes, Op. 32: No. 5 in G Major. Moderato
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 14 Jan 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 12 Etudes op. 10 / 2 Impromptus op. 29 & 36
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1957
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ruth Slenczynska - Complete American Decca Recordings
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on 6 Nov 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Waltz No. 7 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 64 No. 2 (Live)
Classical - Released by Hegu Multimedia Ltd. & Tainan University of Technology on 17 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legacy of a Genius
Concertos - Released by Ivory Classics on 23 Jun 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 12 Etudes op. 25 / Impromptus op. 51 & 66
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1957
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ruth Slenczynska in Concert
Classical - Released by Ivory Classics on 1 Jan 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: 4 Scherzi
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My Life in Music
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 18 Mar 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: 13 Preludes, Op. 32: No. 5 in G Major. Moderato
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 14 Jan 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo