The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Serkin, Rudolf
1903–91, Austrian-American pianist, b. Bohemia. Serkin gave joint recitals with Adolf Busch and made his U.S. debut (1933) with the Busch chamber players. He was a soloist (1936) with the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. Serkin and Busch brought the entire cycle of Beethoven piano-and-violin sonatas to New York audiences in 1938. In 1939 he joined the staff of the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and was later (1968–75) its director. He also became director of the Marlboro School of Music in Vermont in 1951. His son Peter Serkin, 1947–, b. New York City, is also a noted concert pianist. The younger Serkin is known for his performances of the standard classical repertoire and of pieces by contemporary composers.
