Ruth Slenczynska

Ruth Slenczynska (born January 15, 1925) is an American classical pianist and the last living piano student of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Ruth Slenczynska
Slenczynska, c. 1957
Background information
Born	(1925-01-15) January 15, 1925 (age 100) Sacramento, California, U.S.
Genres	Classical
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Piano
Labels	Decca Records Deutsche Grammophon

Early life

Slenczynska was born in Sacramento, California. 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] When she was four, she began her piano studies in Europe, later studying with Artur Schnabel, Egon Petri, Alfred Cortot, Josef Hofmann, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Slenczynska is Rachmanioff’s last living pupil. She played her debut in Berlin at age six and made her debut in Paris with a full orchestra at age seven.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

At 15, Slenczynska was overwhelmed by the pressure of a career as a concert pianist. To escape the pressure, she left home, abandoned her career as a musician, and attended studies at the University of California, Berkeley.^[7] In 1944, when she was 19, she married a student named George Born, but the marriage ended in a divorce in 1953.^[1] After the divorce, Slenczynska started teaching piano for a living. She returned to performing in concerts in 1951 after a break of more than 10 years. That same year, she took part in the Carmel Bach Festival.^[8][9]

Career

Slenczynska was accepted as a music student by the University of California, Berkeley. In 1964, she accepted a full-time position at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as Artist in Residence, a title she retained until 1987.^[10] A large assortment of her memorabilia and recordings constitutes a Special Collection in the Lovejoy Library at SIUE.^[11]

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.^[12][1] That same year she clarified the pronunciation of her surname for the Los Angeles Times: "Slen-chin-ska."^[13]

In 2022, at age 97, she recorded her first album in nearly 60 years for Decca Classics.^[14] She turned 100 on January 15, 2025.^[15]

Selected recordings

• "Complete American Decca recordings", Chopin: Les 24 préludes, Les 24 Études, Les 16 valses, Les quatre impromptus, Les quatre scherzo, Les quatre ballades, les 16 valses, Polonaise op.53. Liszt/Chopin: Six chants polonais. Liszt: Rhapsodie espagnole, Rhapsodie hongroise n°15, Étude n°5, six grandes études by Paganini, Concerto pour piano n°1. Saint-Saëns: concerto pour piano n°2. Decca (1956/1962). 10 CD DG Eloquence 2020. Diapason d'or 2021.
• "My Life in Music", including works by Rachmaninov, Chopin, Barber, and others. Decca (2022).
• Slenczynska has also recorded on Aca digital, Ivory and Deutsche Grammophon^[16][17][18]