Arthur Rubinstein - Early Life

Early Life

Rubinstein was born in Łódź, Congress Poland (part of the Russian Empire for the entire time Rubinstein resided there) on January 28, 1887, to a Jewish family. He was the youngest of seven children, and his father owned a small textile factory.

Rubinstein's birth name was to be Leo, but his eight-year-old brother claimed that "His name must to be Arthur. Since Arthur X (a neighbor's son) plays the violin so nicely, the baby may also become a great musician!". And so Artur he was called, although in English-speaking countries, he preferred to be known as Arthur Rubinstein. However, his United States impresario Sol Hurok insisted he be billed as Artur, and records were released in the West under both versions of his name.

At the age of two, Rubinstein demonstrated perfect pitch and a fascination with the piano, watching his elder sister's piano lessons. By the age of four, he was recognised as a child prodigy. His father had a predilection for the violin and offered Rubinstein a violin; but Rubinstein rejected it because he thought his instinct was for harmony and polyphony. The Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, on hearing the four-year-old child play, was greatly impressed, told Arthur's family :"This boy may become a very great musician -- he certainly has the talent for it... When the time comes for serious study, bring him to me, and I shall be glad to supervise his artistic education." On December 14, 1894, seven-year-old Arthur Rubinstein had his debut with pieces from Mozart, Schubert and Mendelssohn.

At the age of ten, Rubinstein moved to Berlin to continue his studies, and gave his first performance with the Berlin Philharmonic in 1900, at the age of 13.Joseph Joachim recommended Karl Heinrich Barth (with whom he often played in trio) as the boy's piano teacher.