Slenczynska, Ruth (1925–)

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Slenczynska, Ruth (1925–)

American pianist. Name variations: Ruth Slenczynski. Born in Sacramento, California, Jan 15, 1925; dau. of Josef Slenczynski (violinist and once head of the Warsaw Conservatory); studied with Marguerite Long, Artur Schnabel, Alfred Cortot and Egon Petri.

Hailed as one of the great musical prodigies of the age, first played in public at age 6, in Berlin; performed a concerto in Paris 5 years later; by mid-teens, career disintegrated because of the psychological toll; after more than a decade of therapy, resumed public performances, to mostly positive reviews; taught at the University of Southern Illinois.

See also memoir Forbidden Childhood (Doubleday, 1957); and Women in World History.

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