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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Marie Curie, Arthur Rubinstein, Jacob Bronowski, Marek Belka, Jerzy Neyman, Filip Jan Rymsza. Excerpt:Photographed by Carl Van Vechten , 1937 Arthur Rubinstein KBE (January 28, 1887 December 20, 1982) was a Polish -American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. Early life Rubinstein grew-up on the famous Piotrkowska street, ód Rubinstein was born in ód , Poland on January 28, 1887, to a Jewish family. He was the youngest of 8 children. At the age of two, he demonstrated perfect pitch and a fascination with the piano , watching his elder sister's piano lessons. By the age of four, he was already recognised as a child prodigy . The great Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim , on hearing the four-year-old child play, was greatly impressed and began to mentor the young prodigy. Rubinstein first studied piano in Warsaw . By the age of ten, Rubinstein moved to Berlin to continue his studies. In 1900 at age 13, he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic , followed by appearances in Germany and Poland and further study with Karl Heinrich Barth (an associate of Franz Liszt , Hans von Bülow , Joseph Joachim and Johannes Brahms ; Barth also taught Wilhelm Kempff ). Career In 1904, Rubinstein moved to Paris to launch his career in earnest. There he met the composers Maurice Ravel and Paul Dukas and the violinist Jacques Thibaud . He also played Camille Saint-Saëns ' Piano Concerto No. 2 in the presence of the composer. Through the family of Juliusz Wertheim (to whose understanding of Chopin's genius Rubinstein attributed his own inspiration in the works of that composer) he formed friendships with the violinist Paul Kochanski and composer Karol... ... Read more

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Selected by Piero E. Ariotti in collaboration with Rita Bronowski ... Read more

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