Bao Huo Lao Biographies Library · Giants 100-- Rubinstein

Author: Shi Hongzhen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-10-01
Features: We are delighted to recommend the "Giant Biographies Series" to young friends. At the turn of the century, having such a fine series as company is a joy in wisdom. We believe that from the footsteps of these giants and masters, one can learn how to properly handle success and failure, comfort and hardship, joy and pain, smoothness and adversity, and understand how to approach life, how to learn to be a person, how to pursue knowledge, and how to shape oneself and the future.
Principal of Peking University, Zhao Yulin Secretary of the Party Committee, Dong Lingsheng
Every great figure with global influence holds a deeply moving story within them. Their rich experiences and life journeys, their spirit of struggle and elements of success, their character for pursuing excellence and their ability to seize opportunities, undoubtedly have a great inspirational and educational role for today's youth.
Principal of Tsinghua University, Zhao Qinggang
Giants are the elite of humanity. They have made outstanding contributions to the progress and civilization of human society. Their spirit of struggle and extraordinary achievements are deeply admired, becoming models for people to learn from. Giants are human, not gods; they come from ordinary people yet surpass them. Their lofty ideals and belief in serving the motherland and humanity drive them to strive unremittingly and fear no difficulties.
Principal of Tianjin Nankai Middle School, Kang Xiuyan
To carefully read this series of books is like seeing their appearance, speech, and actions, and feeling their ideals, beliefs, aspirations, and moral character. This will help you learn how to be a person, how to pursue knowledge, and how to build a career.
Principal of Fudan University, Cao Tianren
Rubinstein was a remarkably long-lived performer, and just as his boundless vitality, he was truly one of the greatest Chopin interpreters of the 20th century, maintaining an eighty-year performing career. At the age of 13, Rubinstein collaborated with the Berlin Philharmonic on Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 and Saint-Sa?ns' No. 2 Piano Concerto, but interestingly, he waited until he was 39 to begin recording. Additionally, he personally wrote a lengthy 1,000-page autobiography, which was quite unique among other performers. Rubinstein, the son of a Polish Jewish merchant, began learning the piano at the age of three and performed on stage at four. By the time he was ten, thanks to the introduction of the violin master Joachim, he studied with the renowned professor Bartok in Berlin. However, in 1904, when Rubinstein was 17, he left Bartok after sensing signs of antisemitism from his teacher. In 1905, Rubinstein performed in Paris, and Saint-Sa?ns predicted he would become a great pianist. Although this young genius received high praise in Europe, he was thwarted in his attempt to enter the United States.
The story goes that in 1906, Rubinstein accepted an invitation from the Knabe Piano Company to tour the United States for performances. Although he received some positive reviews, he did not create a sensation, and some music critics called him an "unfinished masterpiece." After this setback, Rubinstein returned to Europe disheartened, living a reclusive life. Five years later, he returned to the stage, touring Germany and other countries, but his two trips to the United States in 1919 and 1921 still ended in failure.
Rubinstein possessed exceptional musical talent, something he himself did not deny. However, even the piano prodigy Rubinstein had foolish years in his youth. He once said in an interview, "When I was young, I was lazy. At that time, I felt that there were some things in life more important than practicing the piano—good food, fine cigars, good wine, and women." In 1932, at the age of 45, Rubinstein married Annelie, the daughter of the conductor of the Polish Symphony Orchestra, Milnars, and this famous dandy finally settled down. At this very moment, feeling the pressure of family, Rubinstein began another self-searching journey. He vowed to become a true great pianist for the sake of his wife and children, so he took his family and retreated to a small cabin in the mountains of southeastern France. Every night, by candlelight, he practiced the piano tirelessly in the stable. Three years later, upon his return, Rubinstein had clearly become a piano giant. In 1936, he returned to the United States, where he had repeatedly faced setbacks, and finally gained recognition, officially entering the realm of world-class pianists. He later became a citizen of the United States in 1946.
At the peak of his career, Rubinstein shifted his focus from Europe to the United States during World War II. In 1941, he formed a piano trio with violinist Heifetz and cellist Feierabend, recording piano trios by Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. This collaboration was known as the "Million Trio" or Casals' "Living Golden Trio." Unfortunately, the following year, Feierabend passed away in the United States, and the trio had to temporarily suspend performances and recordings. After World War II, Pyatigorsk continued to play the cello part, maintaining the "Million Trio" reputation.
What is admirable about such a group is not just that its members are all contemporary performing masters, but that these three masters were able to set aside their own egos, take time out of their busy schedules to practice, and, after mutual communication, conceal their individual brilliance and characteristics in their performances, striving for perfection in the overall presentation. Perhaps at this point, what they express is no longer just mutual understanding but a higher understanding of the works themselves.