Anton Rubinstein in America (1872–1873)

By R. Allen Lott

The artistically inßuential and financially successful American tour by the pianist Anton Rubinstein during the 1872–73 season was immediately accorded legendary status by late nineteenth-century Americans, who seemed to have ranked its effect on American musical life just below Jenny Lind's sensational tour two decades earlier. Rubinstein had been preceded by such famed pianists as Henri Herz (1846–50) and Sigismund Thalberg (1856–58), who had astonished audiences by their technical feats. Rubinstein, however, was not interested in merely displaying his virtuosity. Instead, he vividly communicated the essence of the music he performed, and his enraptured listeners responded to him primarily for musical reasons. Yet their infatuation with him was equally due to his perfectly fitting the American image of the quintessential romantic virtuoso—an exotic foreigner with an abundance of technique and charisma. The story of Rubinstein's visit, though often told in broad brushstrokes, deserves to be reconsidered with greater precision. This article will attempt to bring into sharper focus several of the important issues relating to Rubinstein's tour: its sponsorship and itinerary; the pianist's repertoire, interpretation, and reception; and the overall musical significance of his visit. Steinway's sponsorship of Rubinstein's visit is well known, and the piano firm is frequently credited with bringing him to America. His tour might not have happened without the firm's support, but Steinway did not instigate the tour, and it was drawn into the negotiations only at a late date. Rubinstein was first approached by Jacob Grau, who had played a minor role in Thalberg's American tour in the mid-1850s and had since become a relatively successful manager of opera companies in New York and on the road. In late 1871 Grau signed a contract with Rubinstein in Vienna for an American tour. After Grau suffered a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed, he offered the contract to his nephew Maurice Grau if he could provide the security deposit required by Rubinstein. Possessing little capital, Maurice approached William Steinway with the idea that the Steinway firm could receive valuable publicity in exchange for the $10,000 guarantee, and Steinway readily agreed to the proposal. The twenty-three-page contract signed by Rubinstein, Grau, and Theodore Steinway representing the piano firm made provisions for the number of weekly appearances (no more than six, though this clause was occasionally ignored) and Rubinstein's remuneration ($40,000) as well as stipulations concerning life insurance policies, wars, revolutions, and epidemics. Rubinstein had complete freedom in his repertoire but, not surprisingly, had to perform on a Steinway, although he could reject individual pianos.