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boy. However Adolf Preschner is an
excellent teacher. Arthur makes rapid
progress and, not long after, he is invited
to participate in a charity concert.
Of course a special authorization is required,
since he is only seven. Preschner
agrees without hesitation. And thus
begins the preparation for a substantial
program that will bring him his first
successes.
Warsaw
Though Arthur is surrounded by
loving family, he is shattered by the loss
of his adored little cousin Noemi, shown
with him in the picture above, and that
64 ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine
of his grandfather. During this period of
mourning, he maintains only enough interest
in music to practice his scales. He
throws himself into voracious reading,
seizing upon everything he finds: fairy
tales, history books and biographies of
illustrious men. Preschner deplores his
laziness and his lack of motivation.
In 1898 his parents consider that the
time has come to send him to Warsaw.
Never before having left his native city,
Arthur discovers the beauty of his country.
He admires the countryside, he is
ecstatic before the majesty of its forests,
its limitless fields and its gold-tinged autumn
leaves. He is equally impressed by
the authenticity of the people.
At the Warsaw Conservatory, he
meets the magnificent pianist specializing
in Chopin, Alexander Michalowski.
Finding Arthur too young, he refers
him to the noted teacher Aleksander
Rózycki. Arthur is boarded with a relative
during the period of his studies with
Rózycki.
Though the pain of his separation
from his family will leave traces, it is
compensated by the opportunity of
playing with children his age. His hostess’s
library gives him access to literary
treasures that feed his insatiable curiosity
and his love of reading. He is less
pleased with Rózycki, whom he finds
tedious. He therefore directs his attention
to musical styles he considers more
stimulating, to the displeasure of his old
teacher.
One day, in a Warsaw street, he witnesses
a pogrom, a horror that will mark
him for life.
Berlin
Arthur receives an occasional visit
from members of his family in Łódź,
and one morning his mother arrives
unannounced to bring him home. Arthur
then learns that his father Isaac,
who owns a textile factory, is ruined,
as indeed are many of his compatriots.
Needing to seek out new trades, they
scatter to the four corners of the land.
The Warsaw experience has not
been the much-anticipated success, and
that for several reasons. Madame Rubinstein,
who is tireless in her presence
for her son, begins once again to evoke
Berlin and Joseph Joachim. It should be
said that Joachim had also been a prodigy,
considered at the age of 13 one of
the greatest violinists of his time!
Not only does Joachim agree to take
charge of the lad’s musical education,
but his cultural guidance as well. He
poses a condition: Arthur must complete
his education until he is mature,
and he must never be exploited as a child
prodigy. The promise will be kept.
And so we see the young Arthur
at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin,
where Joachim introduces him to Karl
Heinrich Barth, the dean of piano at the
Imperial Academy of Music.
Barth is a demanding teacher, and