Rachmaninoff ’s pupil signs record deal at 96 years old

A PIANIST who is the last living pupil of Rachmaninoff hopes to become a chart topper after signing a new record deal aged 96.

Ruth Slenczynska was born in 1925 in California and became famed as a child prodigy, giving piano concerts in Berlin and Paris from the age of six, before being instructed by the great Rachmaninoff himself.

Now the last living pupil of the Russian composer is hoping to top the charts after signing a record deal with Decca, with music executives saying she is still “at the top of her game”.

Slenczynska said the new album – entitled My Life In Music – was “unbelievable”, adding: “Whoever heard of a pianist my age making another album?

“I’m grateful if they like the music. Music is meant to bring joy. If mine still brings joy to people, then it is doing what it is supposed to do.”

Slenczynska, born to Polish immigrants in the US, followed a strict regime of practise imposed by her father to maximise her musical talents.

She became acquainted with Sergei Rachmaninoff, who had emigrated to the US from Russia following the 1917 revolution, and the young piano prodigy and the Russian composer would often have tea together. She continues to wear a Fabergé egg necklace given to her by him as a gift.

She went on to learn from other instructors, including Josef Hoffman, the Polish pianist, and she studied alongside Samuel Barber, the future world-famous composer. Her abilities led to her being invited to perform a Mozart four-handed piece duet with President Harry S Truman. She also recorded a string of well-received albums in the Fifties and Sixties.

Slenczynska’s ability remains despite the passing decades, and even after her 90th birthday the pianist continued to perform around the world, prompting Decca to approach her about signing a new record deal.

Laura Monks and Tom Lewis, copresidents of Decca Label Group, said: “It’s remarkable to think that Ruth made her concert debut before the birth of colour movies, and around the same time as the birth of television.”

Dominic Fyfe, label director of Decca Classics, added: “We are privileged to have Ruth record for Decca again, some 66 years since she first recorded for the label in New York.”