Editing Arthur Rubinstein (section)

==Music and career==
In 1904, 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]]. He also played [[Camille Saint-Saëns]]' [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Saint-Saëns)|Piano Concerto No. 2]] in the presence of the composer. Through the family of [[Juliusz Wertheim]], whose understanding of Chopin's genius inspired Rubinstein, he formed friendships with the violinist [[Paul Kochanski]] and composer [[Karol Szymanowski]].<ref name="Sachs 1997">{{harvnb|Sachs|1995|p={{page needed|date=April 2020}}}}</ref>
[[File:Arthur Rubinstein 1906.jpg|thumb|Rubinstein, age 19, in 1906]]
Rubinstein made his New York debut at [[Carnegie Hall]] in 1906, and thereafter toured the United States, Austria, Italy, and Russia. According to his own testimony and that of his son in [[François Reichenbach]]'s film ''[[L'Amour de la vie]]'' (1969), he was not well received in the United States. By 1908, Rubinstein, destitute and desperate, hounded by creditors, and threatened with being evicted from his Berlin hotel room, made a failed attempt to hang himself. Subsequently, he said that he felt "reborn" and endowed with an unconditional love of life. In 1912, he made his London debut, and found a musical home there in the Edith Grove, [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], musical salon of Paul and Muriel Draper, in company with [[Igor Stravinsky]], Kochanski, Thibaud, [[Pablo Casals]], [[Pierre Monteux]] and others.<ref name="Sachs 1997"/>

During World War I, Rubinstein stayed in London, giving recitals and accompanying the violinist [[Eugène Ysaÿe]]. In 1916 and 1917, he made his first tours in Spain and South America where he was widely acclaimed. It was during those tours that he developed a lifelong enthusiasm for the music of [[Enrique Granados]], [[Isaac Albéniz]], [[Manuel de Falla]], and [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]]. He was the dedicatee of Manuel de Falla's ''[[Fantasía Bética]]'', Villa-Lobos's ''[[Rudepoêma]]'' and Stravinsky's ''[[Trois mouvements de Petrouchka]]''.

Rubinstein was appalled by Germany's conduct during World War I, particularly [[Rape of Belgium|the atrocities in Belgium]] and never played there again. His last performance in Germany was in 1914.<ref name="Sachs 1997" /> His dislike of Germany was not improved during and after World War II when most of his family back in Poland were killed during the [[Holocaust]]. (Rubinstein has said many times to interviewers that there were two countries where he would not play: [[Tibet]], because it is too high, and Germany, because it is too low.)

In the autumn of 1919 Rubinstein toured Great Britain with soprano [[Emma Calvé]] and tenor [[Vladimir Rosing]].<ref>[[Ivor Newton|Newton, Ivor]] (1966). ''At the Piano – the World of an Accompanist''. London: Hamish Hamilton Ltd. p.&nbsp;44.</ref>

In 1921, Rubinstein gave two American tours, travelling to New York City with Karol Szymanowski and his close friend Paul Kochanski.<ref name="Sachs 1997"/> During his recital in Florida, Rubinstein was accompanied by violinist virtuoso Rudolph Bochoco.<ref>https://www.newspapers.com/clip/119441817/rudolph-bochco-accompanies-arthur-rubens/ ''Noted Pianist Coming to the Casino'' The Tampa Tribune. 1 Mar 1921 p.&nbsp;8. </ref>

In 1934, the pianist, who stated he neglected his technique in his early years, relying instead on natural talent, withdrew from concert life for several months of intensive study and practice.

Rubinstein toured the United States again in 1937, his career becoming centered there during the [[World War II]] years when he lived in [[Brentwood, Los Angeles|Brentwood]], Los Angeles, California. He became a naturalized US citizen in 1946.<ref name="sachs"/>
[[File:Odlew dłoni Artura Rubinsteina.JPG|thumb|A cast of the pianist's hands, at the [[Łódź]] museum]]

During his time in California, Rubinstein provided the piano soundtrack for several films, including ''[[Song of Love (1947 film)|Song of Love]]'' with [[Katharine Hepburn]]. He appeared, as himself, in the films ''[[Carnegie Hall (film)|Carnegie Hall]]'' and ''Of Men and Music''.

Although best known as a recitalist and concerto soloist, Rubinstein was considered an outstanding chamber musician, partnering with [[Henryk Szeryng]], [[Jascha Heifetz]], [[Pablo Casals]], [[Gregor Piatigorsky]] and the [[Guarneri Quartet]]. Rubinstein recorded much of the core piano repertoire, particularly that of the [[Romantic music|Romantic]] composers. At the time of his death, ''[[The New York Times]]'' in describing him wrote, "[[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]] was his specialty ... it was [as] a Chopinist that he was considered by many without peer."<ref name="nytimes.com"/> With the exception of the [[Études (Chopin)|Études]], he recorded most of the works of Chopin. In 1964, during the [[Cold War]], he gave a legendary concert in Moscow, with a pure Chopin program.<ref>This presentation is well-documented on an audio CD edited by [[Joachim Kaiser]], ''Klavier Kaiser'', Sueddeutsche-Zeitung Co., Munich 2004.</ref> He was one of the earliest champions of Spanish and South American composers, as well as French composers of the early 20th century (such as [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]] and [[Maurice Ravel|Ravel]]). In addition, Rubinstein promoted the music of his compatriot [[Karol Szymanowski]]. Rubinstein, in conversation with [[Alexander Scriabin]], named [[Johannes Brahms|Brahms]] as his favorite composer, a response that enraged Scriabin.<ref>{{harvnb|Rubinstein|1973}}, quoted in Norman Lebrecht, ''The Book of Musical Anecdotes''</ref>

In 1969, the film ''[[Arthur Rubinstein – The Love of Life]]'' was released; it won the [[Academy Award]] for Best Documentary Feature. (A later TV special, ''Rubinstein at 90'', highlighted how he had been playing for people for eight decades.)

By the mid-1970s, Rubinstein's eyesight had begun to deteriorate. He retired from the stage at age 89 in May 1976, giving his last concert at London's [[Wigmore Hall]], where he had first played nearly 70 years before.

Rubinstein, who was fluent in eight languages,<ref name="sachs">{{harvnb|Sachs|1995|pp=223-224}}</ref> held much of the repertoire (and not only that of the piano) in his formidable memory.<ref name=sachs /> According to his memoirs, he learned [[César Franck]]'s ''[[Symphonic Variations (Franck)|Symphonic Variations]]'' while on a train en route to the concert, without the benefit of a piano, practicing passages in his lap. Rubinstein described his memory as [[eidetic memory|photographic]], to the extent that he would visualize an errant coffee stain while recalling a score.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,835163-3,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104115032/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,835163-3,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=November 4, 2012 | magazine=Time | title=Pianists: The Undeniable Romantic | date=25 February 1966 | access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref>

Rubinstein also had exceptionally developed aural abilities, which allowed him to play whole symphonies in his mind. "At breakfast, I might pass a Brahms symphony in my head," he said. "Then I am called to the phone, and half an hour later I find it's been going on all the time and I'm in the third movement." This ability was often tested by Rubinstein's friends, who would randomly pick extracts from opera and symphonic scores and ask him to play them from memory.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

Rubinstein's autobiography contained two volumes: ''My Young Years'' (1973); and ''My Many Years'' (1980). Many were displeased by their emphasis on personal anecdotes over music. Pianist [[Emanuel Ax]], one of Rubinstein's greatest admirers, was profoundly disappointed by reading ''My Many Years'': "Until then," he told [[Harvey Sachs]], "I had idolized Rubinstein—I had wanted to have a life like his, the book changed all that."<ref name="Teachout, Terry 1996" />

In a reflective muse, Rubinstein once noted "It is simply my life, music. I live it, breathe it, talk with it. I am almost unconscious of it. No, I do not mean I take it for granted—one should never take for granted any of the gifts of God. But it is like an arm, a leg, part of me. On the other hand, books and paintings and languages and people are passions with me, always to be cultivated. Travel too. I am a lucky man to have a business which allows me to be on the road so much. On the train, the plane, I have time to read. There again, I am a lucky man to be a pianist. A splendid instrument, the piano, just the right size so that you cannot take it with you. Instead of practicing, I can read. A fortunate fellow, am I not?"<ref>The Rubinstein Story (as told to Clifton Fadiman), Radio Corporation of America, 1959.</ref>