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"Forget my performance until yesterday. Because today is even better." A live CD of a historic recital performed by the living legend of the piano world, the 93-year-old superhuman pianist Ruth Slenchenska, at Tokyo Suntory Hall Main Hall in April 2018. The program traverses music history with works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Shostakovich, testing the all-around abilities of a pianist. The performance, more vivid than just energetic, conveyed each note with such energy that it reached every corner of the venue, overwhelming the full audience, who gave a standing ovation that lasted 10 minutes. A precious record of the last century's master reaching the pinnacle of pianism.

About the artist

Born in California in 1925. At age 3, received piano lessons from her violinist father, and performed publicly at age 4. Entered Curtis Institute of Music at age 5 (classmates included notably older Cerkaszky, Bollert, and Barber). Debuted in Berlin at age 6, in New York at age 8, and at age 9, served as a substitute for the suddenly ill Rachmaninoff. The New York Times praised her as "the most brilliant prodigy since Mozart," and by age 14, she had performed across Europe and the United States. However, rebelling against her Spartan father, she ran away at 16 and studied psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. She made a stage comeback at age 26, was enthusiastically received by audiences, performed with many renowned conductors, and by her late 40s, had given over 3,500 concerts worldwide, earning 12 gold discs from Decca Records, and becoming a sensation known as the "Queen of the Piano." At age 39, while continuing to perform as a resident artist at Southern Illinois University, she also focused on education, nurturing many talented pianists from various countries. As an active pianist until age 93, she continued to charm many fans with her mature technique and music that resonated with the soul. In 2003, at age 78, she first visited Japan after meeting dentist Fumiharu Mifune. She visited Japan 10 times until 2018, including her final concert in Okayama in January 2005, which also celebrated her 80th birthday, performing over 30 concerts in total. The 15 CDs she produced during this period, titled "Ruth Slenchenska's Art I~VIII," received high praise from magazines such as "Record Geijutsu." NHK's "Last Concert," which meticulously documented her final concert, and the OHK documentary "The Millennium Cherry Blossom Heard the Piano for the First Time," which compiled her dedication performance at Dainagon Sakura in Okayama in April 2007, were rebroadcast multiple times, evoking nationwide emotion. As one of America's leading pianists, she performed frequently at the White House from the Truman era, and in February 2005, December 2013, and April 2018, she was invited to share music intimately with Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace. Having studied under masters such as Hoffmann, Rachmaninoff, Petri, Schnabel, Backhaus, and Cortot, inheriting the three major pianistic lineages of Russia, Germany, and France, and maintaining close friendships with many renowned performers (including lifelong friendship with Vladimir Horowitz, who was 21 years her senior), she pioneered a unique world surpassing her predecessors. Ruth Slenchenska, who contributed to 20th-century pianism, is truly a living witness to the history of piano performance in the 20th century and is worthy of being called the last master. Even at 93, she continues to strive to elevate her pianism to even greater heights.
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