Last Living Student of Rachmaninoff – Ruth Slenczynska – Performing at 97!

I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com. It’s hard for me to even contain my excitement for the guest we have today: Madam Ruth Slenczynska! Ruth is regarded as one of the great child prodigies of the 20th century and started performing the piano at that age of 4. She’s also the last living student of Sergei Rachaminoff! She’s performed for presidents and traveled the world over performing the piano. At 97 years old, she is still performing and recording. We are going to talk about her 10 CD set that has been released recently to critical acclaim. It’s in its second run already! I will provide links below here on LivingPianos.com and YouTube. We’re going to talk about this and so much more. So without further ado, here is Madam Ruth Slenczynska.

Robert Estrin:
Ruth, it’s so good to see you today. Thanks so much for joining us.

Ruth Slenczynska:
It’s my pleasure, Bob. I’ve known you since you were a little boy!

Robert Estrin:
That’s right. We go way back together. I’m just trying to remember, you knew my father before you met me? Is that true?

Ruth Slenczynska:
Oh yes. Your father brought you to me as a little tike. And then when you grew older, your father took you to the Midwest to study. And you did quite well for yourself I might add.

Robert Estrin:
Well, thank you. I learned a great deal from you. I share so much of your teachings in my teaching, and my online presence is so influenced by you. That’s why I thought it was great to introduce you to everyone. There’s so much to discuss about your rich history, but the first thing I want to bring up is all the exciting things you’re embarking upon right now! You are doing yet another recording after the smashing success of the re-release of your Decca recordings from decades ago. You have another recording coming up and you’re even playing a concert in a couple of weeks at Lebanon Valley College! Maybe you can talk a little bit about some of these upcoming events.

Ruth Slenczynska:
Well, I practice!

Of course practice always helps, and I never stopped really practicing. But of course, as an old lady, I don’t have the strength or the endurance that I used to have. So I practice somewhat less. But I still practice. And practice makes you able to play. So I remain able to play. I might add, I’m a very lucky lady too, because I don’t have the usual ailments that people my age complain of.

Robert Estrin:
I remember studying with you. One thing that I really respected about your teaching that so few teachers will do is, you will practice with students. There’s so many teachers who feel they’re above that. I practiced a good amount when I studied with you, but there was one particular lesson that perhaps I wasn’t as well prepared as I should have been. What you did was, you turned on the metronome and did metronome speeds with me. If anything would motivate me to practice more for the next lesson, that was it! I’ll never forget that. I’m wondering, what music are you playing at your upcoming concert in Pennsylvania at Lebanon Valley College?

Ruth Slenczynska:
Well, I’m playing a Mozart sonata, a prelude by Rachmaninoff, a group of Prokofiev pieces from his ballet Cinderella, and the Sonata of Beethoven that precedes the Moonlight Sonata. It’s a Sonata Quasi una fantasia. So it’s a nice program.

Robert Estrin:
Great program! Fantastic!

You have the distinction on two different ends. You have studied from the time you were a young child. Your first performance was when you were four years old and you still perform. Also, that you are the last living student of Sergei Rachmaninoff. But a lot of people might not realize the legacy of other artists you studied with. You had the opportunity to study with Artur Schnabel, Alfred Cortot, and you studied theory with Nadia Boulanger. You even got the chance to play for Arthur Rubinstein! I can’t even begin to imagine what this must have been like for you and what your takeaway was from the experience of working with these legends.

Ruth Slenczynska:
What you take away from a lesson is the ambience of the whole thing, not just the words, but the feeling of the situation. This is what is important because music is not just something that you hear or even something that you listen to.

Music is a feeling that comes over you. The performer either has the power to make this feeling engulf you and take you into the land of imagination, or the person doesn’t have that power. And that’s what it’s all about.

Robert Estrin:
Absolutely! You said something recently. I don’t know if in regards to what Rachmaninoff told you or something personal that you reflected upon, which is how music is storytelling. And I really relate to that so much. It was so great to hear you share that, because otherwise, what do you have? There are so many people today who can play all the notes, but it’s something beyond that. That feeling that you describe can be so elusive for people. I don’t know if you have any advice to those who practice and practice, and maybe they don’t have that connection. Do you suggest they go to another field? Or is there something they can do to gain the insights into reaching deep within their soul to share their emotions or deep emotions in their music?

Ruth Slenczynska:
Well, I don’t necessarily want other people to share my stories. I want them to find something in the music that reminds them of something in their past and work with that.

Everybody has many, many stories inside them that they just haven’t explored sufficiently.

You have 1000 stories, of course, of your father and your own self. You’ve been around. You’ve had experiences. So you are rich with stories. Everybody should explore their own inside stories and they will find a richness there that they didn’t know they had.

Robert Estrin:
Absolutely. You’ve had so many experiences that you can share. For example, I know that you played for several presidents. You even got a chance to play with one of them. This is a fascinating story. I’d love you to relay these experiences with the various United States presidents, not to mention other world leaders that you can reflect upon. I’m sure people would love to hear about that.

Ruth Slenczynska:
Well, I’ve told the story about president Truman many times, but I had a nice Reagan experience too. I have in my New York apartment a nice letter that starts, “Nancy and I want to congratulate you.” It was from the 50th anniversary of my New York debut. I got this lovely unexpected letter from an American president. But you see, I had known Mr. Reagan and his wife before they were in the White House. This is one reason why I think he sent me the letter.

I don’t think it was just a dictated letter from the president to congratulate an American citizen. I think he remembered me and that is why he wrote the letter.

So I was one of his memories and he was writing to congratulate someone he remembered. When I was included in a luncheon that was given at the White House for various friends of his, ahead of me was a famous actor named James Stewart. I could watch as he climbed the stairs. He was at the top of the stairs. He was receiving his guests – James Stewart arrived. I was close enough to be able to listen. He held out hand and said, “Mr. President…” Reagan took his elbow and poked him. He said, “Don’t you Mr. President me!” They were good friends. He didn’t want to be called Mr. President by his friend. Jimmy and Ron.

Robert Estrin:
I understand you also played for the Kennedy inauguration. Is that right?

Ruth Slenczynska:
Well, I was among many who played at the Kennedy inauguration. It happened through my management. I received a letter that they wanted them to choose 20 artists born in the United States, trained in the United States, to perform at the inauguration. So the management looked at everybody’s schedule who had been born in the United States, and I qualified. I was born in Sacramento, California. I was going to be in the area at the time. So the management informed me, you are among the 20 that we selected.

We were picked up by bus at the airport and brought to this hotel. It wasn’t a famous hotel. It was close to the White House. It was a hotel that was used for special occasions such as this. At the appointed time, the bus came for all of us. Isaac Stern was with us and his wife also. We treated it like a whole little weekend. We were having a good time. And we went to the back of the White House. We were cracking jokes and talking. Nobody heard a note that we played because there were so many people there, all of them talking at the same time. While I was playing, for instance, there were people around me holding drinks, and sandwiches, and talking, not whispering, but actually talking. I couldn’t hear a note I played myself! That was the way it was. What we had to do was submit programs of what we intended to play. I had known Samuel Barber personally, so I submitted a Barber program. I also played some pieces by John La Monte, who was a personal friend of mine. And that’s how it went. Everybody played their own program for 20 minutes, and then we were free to walk around.

While I was playing, I remember that Isaac Stern’s wife went around and she got a whole platter of sandwiches which she was dishing out to us. She said, “Hey, when you get through, there’s a sandwich there I selected for you.” It was a fun weekend.

Robert Estrin:
All right. Now, growing up, of course you wrote the book, Forbidden Childhood. This interview wouldn’t be complete without touching upon the dark side, shall we say of the beginnings of your music. I understand that your father in particular was extremely strict. Yet, what is so fantastic, is how you have one of the most joyful spirits of anyone I know! At your recent 97th birthday celebration on Zoom, there were people on continents around the world. Universally, everyone has been touched by your positive attitude and your giving nature. So I’m wondering how you managed to overcome such adversity. A lot of people sink deep down and never break out of such a thing. Yet you managed to make a career, and a joyful one at that, sharing with the world your love for music.

Ruth Slenczynska:

I got away. I was the butterfly who escaped. Yes, that’s literally what happened. I ran away from home.

Robert Estrin:
How old were you at that point?

Ruth Slenczynska:
19. At the time I thought I was eloping with a fellow student. I did. I married him. But I got away from my father. And from there on, I had control of my life for the first time. I probably did not know what to do. I was very inept. Whatever happened, happened, and it’s happened for the good.

Robert Estrin:
I understand that before teaching at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, where we got to work together, there was another college that you taught at. At that college, somebody overheard you in the room below and you managed to get an engagement to go on tour with the Boston Pops! I understand that you had trepidation at first about even performing. You had doubts about your own pianistic abilities at that point. Maybe you can share that experience a bit.

Ruth Slenczynska:

Well, every artist experiences doubts before you walk on stage. Everyone does. This is the most common thing of all. But artists have to keep on operating as artists or they’re not really artists.

And that’s what happened to me too. At that time, I was speaking at a college for young ladies in Palo Alto, College of Our Lady of Mercy was the name of a Catholic school for young ladies. I was teaching these young ladies so that they could play the piano acceptably for what their families required of them. I entered one or two in a competition that was nearby and had good luck some of the time. And in this way I earned my living. I earned my keep.

Robert Estrin:
I had the great pleasure of getting to know James Kerr, your husband for many years. And I want you to talk a little bit about how you met him. He was such a sweet, gentle, intelligent man that I’m sure you miss tremendously. I wonder if you could share a little bit about how you two got together in the first place? Did you two meet at Southern Illinois University?

Ruth Slenczynska:
That was at Southern Illinois University. And that happened because I had been concertizing a very great deal at that time. I had toured South Africa and I came back via Vienna and recorded the Liszt Concerto with the Vienna Orchestra. I then came back to New York, prepared four programs to go to South America, then played all over South America.

When I came home from that I woke up in my New York apartment and I wasn’t sure where I was!

My first thought was, What program tonight? I was in New York. I didn’t have a program that night. I felt strange. And my first thought was, well, I have a doctor friend who lives downstairs, I’ll call him because I don’t like the way I feel. He came up and he said, “Well, I think that what you’re having is a problem with your stomach. I think that what you should do is not play for a year or so.” I thought, a whole year without playing concerts, what will I do?

He said, “You have an ulcer and you need to rest. And you have to go on a strict diet, you can’t have any raw vegetables, you have to eat cottage cheese, and drink a lot of milk.” He put me on a rigid diet. And I started getting phone calls from various colleges who at that time, tried to hire what they called an artist in residence. This one person called up, his name was Lloyd Blakely. He was from Southern Illinois University. He described the situation in such an interesting way that I was interested in it. He said that they were on a new campus, and that they were building new buildings, and they were starting from scratch to build a fine group of people to teach at that university. He said that I would be free to teach and that he was familiar with my books. I wrote Music At Your Fingertips, which was a very much used teaching book at that time. He asked if I would be interested in teaching at that college. So I said, “Well, I’m willing to have a look at you, but I don’t know about living in the Midwest. I’ve never lived in the Midwest of the United States. I’ve never lived in a small town. I don’t know how to drive!” He said, “Well, at least come and look us over.” So he sent me a ticket. I arrived in St. Louis, and the professor who was supposed to meet me there was supposed to hold Music At Your Fingertips so I could identify who it was waiting for me.

I tried it for a year. During that first year, I made friends with certain people and I got invited to their homes. I met this unmarried person in the political science department named James Kerr. I spoke to him and he offered to take me home. My host, Maho said, “He’s a very nice chap.” So I went home with him. He talked about a string quartet concert that was going to take place. And I said, “Oh, yes. I was thinking of going there.” He said, “I have tickets to that. Would you like to go with me?” So I had my first date.

Robert Estrin:
That sounds familiar. How my wife and I first got together was actually one of my father’s concerts. So music brings people together!

Ruth Slenczynska:
That’s right. But the interesting thing is that after that first date, I went home. When I was still teaching, I would have supper. And then I would go to the place where they kept a concert grand. I had the key to that concert grand. I would go there and practice for four hours. I did that every night. That’s how I spent my evenings.

One evening when I was practicing, I had the feeling that there was somebody in that hall. I looked, and there was James Kerr. He greeted me. He said, “Now I know what you do. Every evening of the week I’ve been calling you and now I know what you do with your evenings!” So we got to talking and he invited me to another concert. And that’s how it grew.

Robert Estrin:
Oh, that’s beautiful.

Ruth Slenczynska:
Also he was an amateur cook. He asked me out to dinner. I said, “Fine, what time?” And he said, “Maybe about two o’clock in the afternoon.” I said, “Dinner at two o’clock in the afternoon?” He said, “Yes. First we have to select a recipe, then we have to go and buy the stuff we need for it. And then we go home, we put on a few records. So the two of us will be working in the kitchen to make this dinner, and then we’ll enjoy dinner, and we’ll select some more records and we’ll talk.” And that’s what we did.

Robert Estrin:
Fantastic.

I have one last question I want to ask you. One of the things that I often wondered with such a busy performing career, how did you ever find the time to practice when you were on the road and traveling from continent to continent? How could you possibly keep all this music in shape when you don’t have the time to practice?

Ruth Slenczynska:
You find time. You can find time between things that you never knew were there.

You live on what your fingers can do. You don’t make yourself play something that you cannot play.

So you work and you keep getting a little bit better, and a little bit better, and a little bit better. And then you take one more piece out of the repertoire and you learn that little, by little, by little. And then you learn another piece, little, by little, by little. Pretty soon you have a whole new program that you have learned while you were working. And that’s your repertoire.

Robert Estrin:
Right.

Ruth Slenczynska:
You are always adding to it.

Robert Estrin:
Absolutely. The most important thing is to always be growing as a musician. Always be learning something new. You are truly an inspiration to me and to so many people around the world with your absolutely amazing life. There’s even preliminary talk, I understand, of a film of your life, which would be absolutely thrilling for people. You have one of the most interesting lives of anyone I’ve ever met. It’s really a pleasure getting to talk together here today. Is there anything else you’d like to add before we say goodbye for now?

Ruth Slenczynska:
Well, I don’t know what would interest you, but it’s been an interesting life. The main thing that you have to do is keep adding to your repertoire, keep adding to your friends, keep giving what you can to the music, and never stop looking. When you stop looking I think that’s the beginning of the end.

Robert Estrin:
Those are beautiful words of wisdom. I’ve always said, one of the most important attributes is curiosity. To be interested enough in life, in people, in music, is what keeps us all alive and keeps the spirit alive, isn’t it?

Ruth Slenczynska:

Yes. That’s imagination. Nothing in the world has ever been created without imagination.

Robert Estrin:
That’s beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing your time with all of us. We will be in touch. Once again, this is Ruth Slenczynska. She’s going to be appearing at Lebanon Valley College, Sunday, February 6th, at 3:00 PM. The links to her box set of recordings on Decca are below, here on LivingPianos.com and YouTube. Thanks so much for joining us. We’ll see you next time. I’m Robert Estrin here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

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Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com

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Complete American Decca Recordings
by SLENCZYNSKA,RUTH; WIENER SYMPHONIKER

Music At Your Fingertips: Advice For The Artist And Amateur On Playing The Piano

My Life In Music
Ruth Slenczynska (Artist)