Scope and Content Note
Letters and other items from the Artur Rubinstein Correspondence span the period 1921-1984, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1939-1982. Despite Rubinstein's extraordinarily lengthy and distinguished career as a performer, the collection largely reflects only those activities following his family's 1939 immigration to the United States to escape the Nazi occupation of France. Coupled with his flight from Poland to London prior to World War I, it is likely that much of Rubinstein's early correspondence and other personal papers were destroyed, seized, or abandoned in the course of these events. The material comprising this collection is mostly personal and business correspondence with musical personalities, publishers, corporations, philanthropic societies, and appreciative fans. Documents include letters, business papers, telegrams, invitations, contracts, personal papers, and other materials. Individuals represented by substantive correspondence are Bronisław Huberman, Bronisław Kaper, Yehudi Menuhin, Isador Philipp, and Isaac Stern. Additionally, the collection contains small amounts of miscellaneous materials, chiefly clippings and writings, that provide insight into Rubinstein's critical reception as a performer and various aspects of his private life.