SIUE Professor Emerita Ruth Slenczynska Signs Record Deal
SIUE College of Arts and Sciences’ professor emerita and pianist Ruth Slenczynska signed landmark record deal in January 2022, after celebrating her 97th birthday. She is the last surviving pupil of composer-pianist Sergei Rachmaninov.
Slenczynska’s album, My Life in Music, explores the music of Chopin, a composer who had a heavy influence on the young pianist’s childhood.
According to her memoir, Forbidden Childhood, Slenczynska was made to practise all 24 Études before breakfast every morning by her father, Josef Slenczynski, who was a skilled violinist. She would subsequently earn a reputation as one of the most celebrated Chopin interpreters of her time.
The album also features music from composers such as Debussy, Grieg and Bach, who all provide memories of her beloved piano mentors and teachers. My Life in Music is out on Decca Classics in conjunction with Universal Music Australia on March 18, 2022.
