Mourning the Loss of Acclaimed Pianist Ruth Slenczynska
We are saddened to share that acclaimed pianist Ruth Slenczynska, who studied at Curtis as a five-year-old in 1930, passed away on April 22, 2026, at age 101.
The last surviving pupil of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Slenczynska led an astonishing nine-decade career, playing her first recital at age four and debuting with orchestra at age seven. As a girl, the Polish-American pianist was heralded one of the greatest child prodigies since Mozart.
Her concerts were “an electrifying experience… something nature has produced in one of her most bounteous moods.” –New York Times, 1933
In 2022, she released her final album, My Life In Music, which serves as a reflection on her career with performances of works by Rachmaninoff, Bach and Debussy.
In 2022, Ruth received an honorary doctorate from Curtis, in the school’s first in-person ceremony since the COVID-19 pandemic.
While at Curtis, she studied with Polish-American pianist Josef Hofmann and Isabelle Vengerova. Other mentors include Samuel Barber (’34), Alfred Cortot, Egon Petri, and Artur Schnabel.
Read more about Ruth Slenczynska and her musical legacy.
