Ruth Slenczynska, last surviving pupil of Rachmaninoff, dies aged 101

Ruth Slenczynska, the last surviving pupil of Sergei Rachmaninoff, died at 101 in an assisted living facility in California. A child prodigy, she debuted at age four and performed for five US presidents, including a four-hand Mozart duet with Harry Truman. Born in 1925 in California to Polish parents, she studied under Rachmaninoff, Josef Hoffman, Alfred Cortot, Egon Petri, and Artur Schnabel. She broke with her abusive father at 15, earned a psychology degree, and later returned to performing. She recorded 10 LPs for Decca, wrote the textbook "Music at Your Fingertips," and taught at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Her final album "My Life In Music" was released in 2022. She died peacefully after a series of falls, according to former pupil Shelly Moorman-Stahlman.