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Free Artist - The Story Of Anton And Nicholas Rubinstein
Free Artist The Story Of Anton And Nicholas Rubinstein Author:Catherine Drinker Bowen Free Artist - THE STORY OF ANTON AND NICHOLAS RUBINSTEIN BY CATHERINE DRINKER BOWEN Nicholas and Anton Rubinstein in 1868 To FRANCES WOODWARD CURTIS Dear Frances, There comes a point in the making of every book when the writer, intoxicated by sight of the goal, believes he has actually said what he meant to say, and soars off in a half-filled b... more »alloon. It is you, severe editor and forgiving friend, who by neat insistent pinprick have so often deflated my balloon and brought me back to earth. Yourself a skilful story-teller, you constrain a writer to say what he means and get on with the job. You have spent many hours on my manuscripts and when I tried to thank you, you would not listen. So I thank you now in print, where you cannot laugh me into silence. C. D. B. October, 1939. ACKNOWLEDQMENT Xo JOSEF HOFMANN, Anton Rubinsteins greatest pupil, the author makes grateful acknowledgment for his careful proofreading and highly spiced marginal comment. Nicolas Slonimsky, whose hawk like, lie-detecting eye brings terror to all writers upon musical sub jects, consented to read the manuscript for errors and not only found them but added much interesting information of his own. To Boris Kamensky in Paris I owe the liveliest accounts of Anton Rubinstein that I found in five countries, and to Alexander Siloti in New York the few really significant facts I was able to glean con cerning Nicholas Rubinstein. Josef Lhevinne and Moritz Rosenthal talked to me about their friend Anton Gregorovitch, so did Madame Shimanovsky and Monsieur Stein and many others who knew him when they were young in Petersburg. Mr. Theodore Steinway di rected me toward much material concerning Antons American tour, and put at my disposal William Steinways diary and the very inter esting correspondence between William Steinway and Rubinstein. I wish also to thank my kind friends in the Staatsbibliothek of Berlin. In Leningrad, Maximilian Steinberg, Director of the Conserva tory that Anton Rubinstein founded, showed cordial interest in ex plaining the present aims of the school. Monsieur Rukavishnikov, Curator of the Tchaikovsky Museum at Klin, and Monsieur Kon chcn, Curator of the Nicholas Rubinstein Museum at the Moscow Conservatory consented at a time when all foreigners were under suspicion of spying or worse to believe that an American woman was in Russia for no purpose but to write a book about the Rubin stein brothers, and opened the archives for her benefit. To the late Mr. Miillcr, the New York iconographer, I owe thanks for the use of his splendid collection of pictures of musicians. Barbara Von Meek, my collaborator in the writing of Beloved Friend, gave this manuscript the benefit of that training in scholarly vii research that is hers as daughter of a Russian house that knew in timately such historians as Kluchevsky and Platonov. Dr. Otto E. Albrecht of the University of Pennsylvania rendered valuable assistance in preparing the Bibliography and Catalogue of Compositions. It was he who discovered the original programs of Anton Rubinsteins Historical Concerts. To Virginia and Benny Dulaski at the American Embassy in Moscow, who showed true hospitality to a homesick stranger, I ex tend heartfelt thanks...« less