Ruth Slenczynska

Slenczynska was born in Sacramento, California, on January 15, 1925. Her Polish father, Joseph Slenczynski (Józef Ślenczyński), was a violinist. Pushed by her father and starting at age three, Slenczynska was forced to practice the piano relentlessly.^[1] At age three, her father took her to Europe to study.^[2] She made her recital debut at age four.^[2][3] She played her debut in Berlin at age six and made her debut with a full orchestra in Paris at age seven.^[4][5][6] In 1934 she met Sergei Rachmaninoff after having stepped in for him for a concert.^[2] She then studied with him and also with Artur Schnabel, Egon Petri, Alfred Cortot and Josef Hofmann. Slenczynska became Rachmaninoff's last living pupil.^[2][7]

At age 15, Slenczynska was overwhelmed by the pressure of a career as a concert pianist; she left home, abandoned her career as a musician, and studied psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.^[2][4] In 1944, when she was 19, she married a student, George Born. She returned to performing in concerts in 1951 after a break of more than 10 years.^[4] That same year, she took part in the Carmel Bach Festival.^[8] After the marriage ended in a divorce in 1953, she started teaching piano for a living.^[4]

Slenczynska was accepted as a music student by the University of California, Berkeley. In 1957, she published a book of memoirs, Forbidden Childhood, which deals with life as a child prodigy, and a book on piano technique, Music at Your Fingertips: Aspects of Pianoforte Technique.^[1][2][9] That same year she clarified the pronunciation of her surname for the Los Angeles Times: "Slen-chin-ska."^[10] In 1964, she accepted a full-time position at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) as artist-in-residence, a title she retained until 1987.^[11] A large assortment of her memorabilia and recordings constitutes a Special Collection in the Lovejoy Library at SIUE.^[12] Slenczynska contributed articles to trade journals including Clavier, Piano Quarterly and Keyboard^[13] In 2022, at age 97, she recorded her first album in nearly 60 years, My Life in Music.^[2][14] Slenczynska received an honorary doctorate from Curtis Institute of Music the same year.^[15]

Personal life

In the 1960s, she married the political scientist James Kerr, who died in 2000.^[2] She turned 100 on January 15, 2025.^[16] Slenczynska died at an assisted living facility in Cupertino, California, on April 22, 2026, at the age of 101.^[2][3][17]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

Slenczynska made recordings with Decca Classics between 1959 and 1963 that were reissued on ten CDs to mark her 96th birthday.^[18]

• Complete American Decca recordings, containing:^[18][19][20]
  • Chopin
    • Les 24 préludes
    • Les 24 Études
    • Les 16 valses
    • Les quatre impromptus
    • Les quatre scherzo
    • Les quatre ballades
    • Polonaise, Op. 53
  • Liszt/Chopin: Six chants polonais
  • Liszt
    • Rhapsodie espagnole
    • Rhapsodie hongroise, No. 15
    • Étude, No. 5
  • Niccolò Paganini: 6 grandes études
  • Saint-Saëns
    • Concerto pour piano n°1
    • Concerto pour piano n°2

  Decca (1956/1962). 10 CD DG Eloquence 2020. OCLC 1444357840 Diapason d'or 2021.

• My Life in Music, works by Bach, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Debussy, Barber, and others, Decca 2022^[2] OCLC 1313911945

Slenczynska also recorded for Aca digital, Ivory and Deutsche Grammophon.^[21][22][23]

• with Biancolli, Louis: Forbidden Childhood, NY, 1957.^[2] OCLC 3860198
• Music at Your Fingertips, NY, 1961 (1976, 1986), Da Capo Press.^[2] ISBN 978-0-306-80034-4 OCLC 993507225
• On Preparations for a Piano Competition. Seventh National Chopin Piano Competition, March 2005^[13]
• Thoughts on Memorizing, herberttsang.com^[24]

Articles in trade journals

Slenczynska contributed articles to trade journals including Clavier, Piano Quarterly and Keyboard^[13]

• Haydn's Sonata No. 35 in A Flat. Clavier, 1972, Vol. 11, Issue n. 5, pp 18–25.
• Follow-up on Haydn. Clavier, 1972, Vol. 11, Issue n. 7, pp 18–26.
• The Opening of the Rachmaninov Second Concerto. Clavier, 1973, Vol. 12, Issue n. 7, p 18.
• Practice and Performance Suggestions for Rachmaninoff's Etude-Tableau, No. 2. Clavier, 1973, Vol. 12, Issue n. 7, p 29.
• Grandfatherly Guidance. Clavier, 1973, Vol. 12, Issue n. 7, pp 15–16.
• Learning Approaches to Chopin's Prelude in E Major, Op. 28, No. 9. Piano Quarterly, 1973, Vol. 21, Issue n. 81, pp 26–31.
• Build Your Own Career. Music Journal, April 1974, Vol. 32, p. 12.
• Learning Approaches to Chopin's Prelude in C Scharp Minor, Op. 28, No. 10. Piano Quarterly, 1974, Vol. 22, Issue n. 85, pp 31–33.
• Good Octaves and How to Acquire Them (with list of music). Clavier, 1977, Vol. 16, Issue n. 3, pp. 37–41.
• Master Class: Rachmaninoff Prelude Op. 23, No. 4. Clavier, 1979, Vol. 18, Issue n. 9, pp 20–24.
• On Chopin's Unexpected Invitations to Dance. Piano Quarterly, 1979, Vol. 27, Issue n. 106, p 24.
• Private Lesson: Performance Techniques for 'Sonata K. 239' by Scriabin. Keyboard, Dec 1985, Vol. 11, pp 24–26
• Private Lesson: On Prokofiev's Vision Fuguitive XVI. Keyboard, Feb 1986, Vol. 12, pp 36–37.
• On Chopin's Unexpected Invitations to Dance. Piano Quarterly, 1979, Vol. 27, Issue n. 106, p 24.
• Private Lesson: Beyond Polyrhythms: a Chopin Rubato. Keyboard, Oct 1986, Vol. 12, p 93.
• Private Lesson: How a Pianist Works on Ear-Hand Coordination. Keyboard, Jan 1986, Vol. 12, p 112.
• Private Lesson: Gaining Left-Hand Awareness. Keyboard, Sep 1986, Vol. 12, p 109.
• Private Lesson: Polyrhythmical Skill, Two Against Three. Keyboard, May 1986, Vol. 12, p 27.
• Private Lesson: Exercises for Smooth Polyrhythms: Three Against Four. Keyboard, Jan 1986, Vol. 12, pp 32–33.
• Private Lesson: On Schumann's 'Important Event' from Kinderszenen. Keyboard, April 1986, Vol. 12, pp 32–33.
• Bach's 'Three Voiced Fugue in C Minor. Clavier, 1988, Vol. 27, Issue n. 1, pp 26–29.