Ruth Slenczynska

Slenczynska was born in Sacramento, California, on January 15, 1925. Her Polish father, Joseph Slenczynski (Józef Ślenczyński), was a violinist. When she was four, she began her piano studies in Europe, later studying with Artur Schnabel, Egon Petri, Alfred Cortot, Josef Hofmann, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Slenczynska was Rachmaninoff's last living pupil.[2][3] She met Rachmaninoff in 1934, after substituting for him in a concert when she was just 9 years old.