Rubinstein: A Life

by Harvey Sachs

Award-winning biographer Harvey Sachs has spent over a decade traveling the world in search of the man behind the legend, the artist behind the myth, and the secret life behind the memoirs. Sachs reveals not only Arthur Rubinstein's many humanitarian efforts but also his lavishly uninhibited love affairs, his fabled rivalry with Horowitz, and his often charged relationships with political leaders, royalty, and high society. Photos.

Genres: Music, Biography, History

448 pages, Hardcover

First published October 19, 1995

Reviews

[Jill H. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur Rubinstein is one of my idols......he may have been the greatest concert pianist of the 20th century and the ultimate interpreter of Chopin's music. So I was excited to read this biography of the child prodigy who played until he was 90 years of age. But there was a problem. The book was divided into two parts...his early life and later life and they seem to have been written by different authors, although I'm sure they were not. The first half of the 400+ page biography listed every private and public concert and every selection that he played. That got old very fast even for a classical music lover like me. But once the author found his legs and got on with it, he begin to delve into the personal life of the talented but self-obsessed artist and the reader was given a portrait of Rubinstein the man. He was married to the same woman his entire life but was a unapologetic womanizer and made no secrets of his liaisons. His relationship with his children was rather distant and demanding as one would expect from someone whose life revolved about himself. He wasn't particularly a nice man at times but was adored by his fans and he adored them as well. At the age of 80, he left his wife for a woman young enough to be his grandchild and lived with her in complete contentment until his death. His life was amazing, although not particularly admirable in some instances. I would have given this book a higher rating but for the first half which was rather boring. But I will continue to be enthralled by his artistry and the picture of the slight little man with the rigid back, beautiful Semitic profile and tousled curls. A true genius.

[Jason Rubenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

How could I not? Besides, it's a superb Bio.