Rudolph Serkin(pianist; born March 28, 1903, Eger, Bohemia; died May 9, 1991) - also spelled as Rudolf Serkin. With his overwhelming talent, Rudolph Serkin amazed audiences the world over during his long career. His gentle technique earned him profound respect and critical acclaim.

Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, to Mordko and Augusta Serkin, Russian Jews who had fled the pogroms. He could play the piano and read music by the time he was four years old and it was suggested to send him to study piano in Vienna under Professor Richard Robert.

Serkin studied piano with Robert and composition with Joseph Marx and Arnold Schoenberg. Young Serkin learned to play so well that he made his debut as guest artist with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra when he was only 12. He began his concert career when he turned 17, performing solo and in chamber orchestras. He also played a series of sonatas for piano and violin with Adolf Busch.

Over the next few years, Serkin toured the capitals of Europe, impressing audiences everywhere. In 1935, Serkin made his first United States appearance at the Coolidge Festival in Washington, DC, playing with Adolf Busch. The very next year, he launched his solo concert career with the New York Philharmonic under Arturo Toscanini. The critics raved, describing him as "an artist of unusual and impressive talents in possession of a crystalline technique, plenty of power, delicacy, and tone purity." Serkin married Irene Busch, daughter of his violin partner, in 1936. In 1937, Serkin played his first New York recital at Carnegie Hall.

Becoming an American citizen in 1939, Serkin made his home in Philadelphia, where he soon became head of the piano department of the Curtis Institute of Music. He taught piano there until 1968, when he became the Institute's director. He also continued to make annual tours of the U.S., usually selecting a handful of Beethoven and Schubert pieces to perform.

Serkin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, and, in March 1972, he celebrated his 100th appearance with the New York Philharmonic by playing Brahms's D Minor Piano Concerto. The orchestra also named Serkin an honorary member of the Philharmonic's Symphony Society of New York, an elite musical society that includes Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, and Paul Hindemith. In 1986, he celebrated his 50th anniversary as a guest artist with the orchestra.

In 1987, Serkin's health forced him to retire from touring. He recorded Beethoven's Appasionata sonata in 1987 at his studio in Vermont, and he continued to teach at the Curtis Institute until his health began to decline. Serkin died of cancer at his home in Guilford, Vermont in 1991.

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