"I can't believe it. Have you never heard of a pianist my age releasing a new album?"



Ruth Slenchinska, a '97-year-old active female American pianist who has lived with the keyboard for over 90 years, shared her thoughts on releasing a new album.



According to a BBC report on the 19th local time, Slenchinska, who celebrated her 97th birthday on the 15th, released an album titled 'My Life in Music' last year from the world-renowned record label Decca.

This album is scheduled to be released in March.



Nearing the age of 100, he was moved by the fact of the release of a new album, saying, "Have you never heard of a pianist my age releasing a new album?"



Laura Monks and Tom Lewis, co-representatives of Decca record label, said, "When Slenchinska performed for the first time, it was before color movies, and it was only around the time color TV appeared. It is very unusual to be in such a top position.”



6-year-old 'piano prodigy' sweeps Europe, teacher is master Rachmaninoff

Slenchinska, who started playing the piano as a kid in the 1920s, was heard as the most outstanding prodigy since Mozart, and already made a name for herself in Europe at the age of six.



He is also known as the only surviving pupil of Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943), a Russian piano virtuoso and the last composer of the Romantic School of the early 20th century.



"I learned from Rachmaninoff that I have to look at the work from the composer's point of view," he said.

The egg necklace he received from his teacher Rachmaninoff is still there.



This new album also mainly contains songs by his teacher Rachmaninoff and his favorite musician, Chopin.



Slenchinska also has a special relationship with past presidents of the United States.

At the inauguration of former Presidents John F and Kennedy, he performed Mozart's duet with former US President Harry Truman, and was praised by Ronald Reagan as 'the first American woman with a 50-year concert career'.



"9 hours of piano practice every day"...

harsh childhood

But Slenchinska's childhood wasn't easy.

The father, a famous violinist, sternly forced his daughter to practice for nine hours every day, corporal punishment or starving her on days when she missed or rebelled.



Eventually, Slenchinska decided to retire at the age of 15 and majored in psychology at the University of California.

And 10 years later, after returning to the stage in 1951, he released 10 albums including Bach, Chopin, and Liszt through Decca in the 1950s and 1960s.



He also wrote the story of that time in his first autobiography, 'Forbidden Childhood' in 1957, and also wrote about how strictly his father taught him.



Slenchinska, with full gray hair, is an active pianist who is still actively performing on stage or on YouTube.

In an interview with FT, he said this about his 'secret to longevity' as a pianist.


"In my 20s, I thought, 'I should only play until 30', and when I turned 30, I decided, 'I should retire when I turn 40.' and how to understand people"


(Photo = DECCA YouTube capture)