Artur Rubinstein

Birthday: Jan 28, 1887

Bio: Born into a family of Polish merchants, Artur Rubinstein began exhibiting his talents as a classic pianist at the age of five. He gave his first formal concert in Potsdam in 1900 when he was 13, and after studying with such notables as Paderewski, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1906. It would be another three decades, however, before he would gain international… More Bio: Born into a family of Polish merchants, Artur Rubinstein began exhibiting his talents as a classic pianist at the age of five. He gave his first formal concert in Potsdam in 1900 when he was 13, and after studying with such notables as Paderewski, he made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1906. It would be another three decades, however, before he would gain international renown under the guidance of impresario Sol Hurok. Blessed with a photographic memory, Rubinstein was able to maintain a busy concert career with a minimum of rehearsal, devoting the balance of his time to "wine, women, and song" -- or, as he was fond of saying, 80 percent women and 20 percent wine and song. He contributed to the soundtracks of such '40s films as I've Always Loved You (1946), Song of Love (1947), and Night Song (1948), and was featured onscreen in Carnegie Hall (1947) and Of Men and Music (1952). Active until falling victim to blindness in his tenth decade, he was the subject of two documentary films and in 1977 headlined the PBS special Arthur [sic] Rubinstein at 90. Artur Rubinstein was the father of stage and film actor John Rubinstein. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi