Polish city remembers pianist Arthur Rubinstein

An exhibition tracing the life and career of legendary pianist Arthur Rubinstein opens on Friday in the central Polish city of Łódź, where he was born in the late 19th century.

Arthur Rubinstein, pictured in 1976.

Photo: PAP/dpa/Rauschnick

The exhibition at the Łódź Philharmonic documents Rubinstein’s early musical education in his native city and his returns to Łódź later in life, highlighting a lifelong bond that endured despite his international career.

Rubinstein was born in Łódź on January 28, 1887, and took his first piano lessons there before moving to Berlin at age 10 to continue his musical education.

Although he settled abroad at a young age, the city remained emotionally significant to him.

During a visit to Łódź in 1975, Rubinstein reflected on that connection in an interview.

“I used to live in Paris, New York, Hollywood and Los Angeles. All of these cities regarded me almost as their citizen,” he said. “But I was aware all the time that my roots were not there. Here in Łódź, strangely enough, I feel deep in my heart that it all began here.”

According to exhibition curator Bożena Pellowska-Chudobińska, Rubinstein gave 34 concerts in Łódź. The centrepiece of the exhibition is his final appearance there, on May 30, 1975.

That concert marked the 60th anniversary of the Łódź Philharmonic Orchestra. Rubinstein performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor and Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto, with the orchestra conducted by Henryk Czyż.

As an encore, he played Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat major.

Due to overwhelming public interest, the concert was held at the city’s Grand Theatre, which has a larger auditorium than the philharmonic.

One moment that particularly pleased Rubinstein, Pellowska-Chudobińska said, was a pre-concert rehearsal held at the philharmonic hall, where he had made all his previous appearances in Łódź, beginning with his debut in December 1894 at age 7.

Rubinstein returned to his hometown once more in 1979, three years before his death in Geneva at age 92.

Pianist Arthur Rubinstein in concert in 1962. Photo: Rossem, Wim van / Anefo [CC BY-SA 3.0 nl (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/nl/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

A permanent exhibition of Rubinstein’s memorabilia is on display at the Museum of the City of Łódź. In 1984, the Łódź Philharmonic was named in his honour.

In a ranking of the 20 greatest pianists of the recorded era compiled by BBC Music Magazine, Rubinstein placed second.

“If there was an award for the pianist who came closest to the artistic ideal in the widest repertoire, it would almost certainly go to Rubinstein,” the magazine wrote, adding that he is “most celebrated for his Chopin, whose aristocratic poise and elegance found a perfect match in Rubinstein’s own interpretative genius.”

(mk/gs)