Rubinstein : a life

Illustrated with rare photographs, a biography by the author of Toscanini reveals Arthur Rubenstein's private life, including his love affairs, his rivalry with Vladimir Horowitz, and his relationships with the rich and powerful. 20,000 first printing.

Arthur Rubinstein's career was one of the longest and most successful in the history of musical performance. He was seven at his first concert, 89 at his last. A musical genius, he spoke eight languages, loved many women, befriended the famous, and inspired worldwide admiration. Yet this consummate, elegant musician was a man of tempestuous contradictions. Harvey Sachs's biography examines a figure whose narcissism and instinct for self-preservation contrasted dramatically with his innate generosity and enormous charm. His technique was brilliant, but to career's end he tried to avoid the mechanical aspects of practicing and depended instead on inspiration and temperament to carry him over the rough spots. This thoroughly researched and entertaining book gives voice to varied points of view and creates a fully rounded portrait of a complex man whose best-selling autobiography left much of his story untold.

"Rubinstein's life deserves a definitive biography and Harvey Sachs has taken on the task with the Rubinstein family's blessing." (Hungry Mind Review)

Publishers Weekly

Pianist Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982), apart from being a world-renowned performer for more than 65 years, also wrote a bestselling autobiography, My Young Years. Sachs, author of an admired study of Toscanini, is therefore up against formidable competition-and comes out of it with great credit. His study is detailed, fair-minded and vivid. Rubinstein was vastly egocentric in his private life, yet appeared genuinely transformed by his music-making, which seemed often to come across better on recordings than in person and helped make him the bestselling classical pianist ever. A tireless womanizer, he was middle-aged before he married a woman 22 years his junior and had children. In the last decade of his life, he began a liaison with a young English concert promoter, Annabelle Whitestone (now married to British publisher Sir George Weidenfeld). Rubinstein seems never to have overcome his sad childhood, but the pleasure he gave and continues to give to millions was his true legacy. The book includes an outstanding review, by the author, of Rubinstein's recordings and a fine discography by Donald Manildi. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)

Award-winning biographer Harvey Sachs has spent over a decade traveling the world in search of the man behind the legend, the artist behind the myth, and the secret life behind the memoirs. Sachs reveals not only Arthur Rubinstein's many humanitarian efforts but also his lavishly uninhibited love affairs, his fabled rivalry with Horowitz, and his often charged relationships with political leaders, royalty, and high society. Photos. A biography of Arthur Rubinstein's private life, including his love affairs, his rivalry with Vladimir Horowitz, and his relationships with the rich and powerful.