Arthur rubinstein autobiography of benjamin

His father owned a small textile factory.

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Rubinstein's birth name was to be Leo , but his eight-year-old brother claimed that "His name must be Artur. Since Artur X a neighbour's son plays the violin so nicely, the baby may also become a great musician! His United States impresario Sol Hurok , however, insisted he be billed as Artur , and records were released in the West under both versions of his name.

At age two, Rubinstein demonstrated absolute 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 the piano, was greatly impressed, telling 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. When he turned ten, Rubinstein moved to Berlin to continue his studies, and gave his first performance with the Berlin Philharmonic in , at the age of As a student of Barth, Rubinstein inherited a renowned pedagogical lineage: Barth was himself a pupil of Liszt , who had been taught by Czerny , who had in turn been a pupil of Beethoven.

In , Rubinstein moved to Paris to launch his career in earnest, where he met the composers Maurice Ravel and Paul Dukas and the violinist Jacques Thibaud.