I love hearing stories of child prodigies.
And Artur Rubinstein was just that.
Rubinstein was born in Poland in 1887, the youngest of eight kids to a well-to-do Polish-Jewish family.
It has been said that at the age of two, he became fascinated with the piano while watching his elder sister's piano lessons.
He also demonstrated perfect pitch at age 2.
Really?
At the age of four, the great Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim, heard him play and began mentoring him.
At the age of 10, he moved to Berlin to continue his studies, and at 13 he made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic.
He then began studying with Karl Heinrich Barth, an associate of Brahms (think the lullaby dude).
So get this.
Barth was a pupil of a guy named Franz Liszt.
Liszt studied under Carl Czerny.
And Carl Czerny had been taught by none other than Beethoven.
Not a bad lineage.
But this Rubinstein was a player in every sense of the word.
He once stated: "It is said of me that when I was young I divided my time impartially among wine, women and song. I deny this categorically. Ninety percent of my interests were women."
Nonetheless, he continued performing up until the age of 89 when his eyesight got the best of him.
He died in 1982 at the age of 95.
Watch him play.
Not a single piece of sheet music.
Effortless. Incredible. Beautiful.
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