Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin was a renowned pianist and educator, recognized for his profound influence on classical music, particularly in interpreting the works of German and Romantic composers such as Beethoven. Born in 1903 in what is now the Czech Republic, he displayed extraordinary musical talent from a young age, mastering the piano and reading music by age four. After emigrating to the United States in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime, he became a prominent figure in the American classical music scene, both as a soloist and a collaborator, notably with Adolf Busch. Serkin co-founded the Marlboro Music Festival, which supports chamber music education and has had a lasting impact on the music community.
Throughout his career, Serkin was dedicated to performing and teaching, holding a professorship at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he also served as director. He received several accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Grammy Award, underscoring his contributions to music. Despite being influenced by Arnold Schoenberg’s modern music ideas, Serkin ultimately gravitated towards classical repertoire, emphasizing the need for a deep understanding of musical scores. His legacy continues through the many musicians he inspired and the high standards he set for musical interpretation and performance. Serkin passed away in 1991, leaving behind a rich heritage in the world of classical music.
Rudolf Serkin
Pianist
- Born: March 28, 1903
- Birthplace: Cheb, Bohemia (now in Czech Republic)
- Died: May 8, 1991
- Place of death: Guilford, Vermont
Bohemian classical pianist
Although he had a prodigious performing schedule, pianist Serkin influenced generations of musicians as an administrator at the Curtis Institute of Music and as a cofounder of the Marlboro Music Festival, which promoted chamber music.
The Life
Rudolf Serkin (SUR-kihn) was born the fifth of eight children to Mordko and Auguste (Schargel) Serkin. By age four, Serkin was able to read music and play piano. Although Serkin’s father had declared bankruptcy, he provided his son with piano lessons, first in his hometown with Camilla Taussig and later in Vienna with Richard Robert (who, although he worked in the shadow of the preeminent teacher Theodor Leschetizky, was an important piano pedagogue). Serkin also studied composition with Joseph Marx in Vienna.
Serkin had experienced increasing acclaim by age twelve as a piano prodigy in Vienna, and after he met Adolf Busch in 1920, he became known as both a soloist and collaborator (with Busch). In 1933 Serkin performed for the first time in the United States with the Busch String Quartet. In 1935 Serkin married Busch’s daughter Irene, and they later had seven children. (One of them, Peter, became a pianist who specializes in late twentieth century music, especially chamber music, which he performs in the TASHI ensemble.) Serkin and his family emigrated to America in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime, which was persecuting Jews. He became a professor of piano at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and later, from 1968 to 1976, he became its director. In 1951 Serkin and Busch cofounded the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, which has become one of the most respected chamber music training festivals in America. Serkin received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 and a Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance in 1984 for his performance with cellist Mstislav Rostropovich of Johannes Brahms’s Sonata for Cello No. 1 in E Minor (1865).
In 1972 Serkin gave his one-hundredth concert appearance with the New York Philharmonic, performing Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor (1859). He was made an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic’s Symphony Society of New York, sharing this elite status with composers such as Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, and Paul Hindemith. Serkin made his final released recording in 1986, and in 1987 he gave his final Carnegie Hall recital, performing Beethoven’s last three sonatas. He died of cancer at age eighty-eight in 1991 at his home in Vermont.
The Music
Following his early lessons, Serkin studied composition from 1918 to 1920 with Arnold Schoenberg in Vienna. At this time, Schoenberg was just formulating his twelve-tone theory, and he strongly influenced his pupil toward atonality. Serkin played only modern music during these two years, often performing free concerts at Schoenberg’s Society for the Private Performance of Music. Serkin made a radical and complete break with Schoenberg’s style, however, in 1920 (the same year he met Busch), stating he could never love contemporary music. He became instead a champion of the German classic and Romantic composers, especially Ludwig van Beethoven. Nevertheless, Serkin and his colleagues, such as Isaac Stern, would later acknowledge that Schoenberg’s complete devotion to the aesthetic ideal of music provided a grounding for Serkin’s sublimation of “self” to the music.
Serkin appeared as a concerto soloist in the United States for the first time in 1936 with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 (1808) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 (1791). Reviews in New York described him as “an artist of unusual and impressive talents,” combining “the most penetrating analysis with artistic enthusiasm.” His career from this point grew to the point that, at its peak, he annually performed more than sixty recitals and concerto appearances between October and May, in addition to his teaching obligations at the Curtis Institute, his recording schedule with Columbia Records, and his summer obligations at the Marlboro Music Festival. His grueling performance schedule threatened his health on several occasions.
Throughout his performing career, Serkin maintained several professional loyalties: He performed almost exclusively on Steinway pianos (in his later career, he toured with his own piano); he remained a Columbia Records label artist; he remained with Columbia Artists management throughout his career; he performed a Beethoven sonata at every one of his annual Carnegie Hall recitals for more than fifty years; he remained, in general, loyal to German composers—in his entire career it appears he performed only two American compositions: Edward MacDowell’s Piano Concerto No. 2 (1890) and Samuel Barber’s Piano Sonata (1949), and he recorded only a handful of compositions by composers outside the Austro-Germanic tradition, including Frédéric Chopin’s Études, Op. 25 (1837) and Antonín Dvořák’s chamber music.
Musical Legacy
Serkin’s most important legacy rests with his role in cofounding the Marlboro Music Festival, where professionals and amateurs could engage in the serious study of chamber music. (Later, the festival began to center upon the best talents in the music field.) Serkin influenced generations of musicians with his performances and recordings—particularly of Beethoven’s music—and his administrative and artistic roles at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Serkin strove to apply in his own interpretations what he had once stated was the foundation of his admiration for Toscanini’s interpretations, which combined “architecture with passion.” Serkin was among the pioneers of the movement in twentieth century interpretation to place priority upon musical truth achieved through a careful study of the score, resulting in a deep understanding of the composer’s personality that was brought to life on the stage. While some critics labeled his interpretations cold or stiff, many others shared the opinion of conductor Max Rudolf, who stated of Serkin, “When it came to artistic decisions, he knew no compromise.”
Principal Recordings
albums:Bach: Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo in G Major, 1929; Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 12, 1931; Schubert: Fantasy for Violin and Piano in C Major, 1931; Vivaldi: Sonata for Violin and Basso Continuo in A Major, Op. 5, 1931; Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 5 in F Major, Op. 25, 1933; Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major—Mozart, 1937; Arioso—George Frideric Handel, 1939; Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, 1950; Italian Concerto—Bach, 1950; Robert Schumann: Trio for Piano and Strings, No. 3 in G Minor, Op. 110, 1956; Schumann: Quintet for Piano and Strings in E-flat Major, Op. 44, 1956; Bach: Capriccio in B-flat Major—On the Departure of His Most Beloved Brother, 1957; Three Favorite Sonatas: Moonlight, Appassionata, and Pathétique, 1963; Brahms: Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83, 1966; Serkin—Bach, Reger, Beethoven, 1973; Bach: Goldberg Variations—Aria, 1976; Haydn: Sonata for Keyboard No. 59 in E-flat Major, 1977; Mozart: Rondo for Piano No. 3 in A Major, 1977; Schubert: Sonata for Piano in B-flat Major, 1977; Pieces for Piano—Op. 119, No. 1, Intermezzo in B Minor, 1979; Brahms: Sonata for Cello and Piano in E Minor, Op. 38, 1984 (with Mstislav Rostropovich).
Bibliography
Ewen, David. Men and Women Who Make Music. New York: The Reader’s Press, 1945. This book covers many artists—violinists, pianists, cellists, singers, and conductors. It is an adequate first source for general information on Serkin and his life.
Horowitz, Joseph. Artists in Exile: How Refugees from Twentieth-century War and Revolution Transformed the American Performing Arts. New York: Harper, 2008. Well written and provocative, this thorough volume includes references to Serkin and discussions of many other musicians who left their native countries, often fleeing Nazism and Fascism, to live in the United States.
Lehman, Stephen, and Marion Faber. Rudolf Serkin: A Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. This biography recounts Serkin’s life, with details on his personal life and considerable attention devoted to his affiliation—both professional and personal—with Adolf Busch. In addition, there are interviews with his contemporaries (among them Richard Goode, Eugene Istomin, and Arnold Steinhardt) about his performances, his teaching, and his influence at the Marlboro Music Festival. Includes a listing of Serkin’s Carnegie Hall recital dates and a comprehensive discography.