Erna Rubinstein (March 2, 1903–1966), born Ernesztina Rubinstein, was a Hungarian violinist.

Early life

Ernesztina Rubinstein was born in

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...

in 1903. Her mother was a singer. She studied violin with József Füredi in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and ...

, and with

Jenő Hubay Jenő Hubay, Jenő Hubay von Szalatna, hu, szalatnai Hubay Jenő (; 15 September 185812 March 1937), also known by his German name Eugen Huber (), was a Hungarian violinist, composer and music teacher. Early life Hubay was born into a Ger ...

at the

Franz Liszt Academy of Music The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, from 1913 to 1918. As a young woman violinist, she was often grouped with (and compared to) her peers, (1901–1959) of Bulgaria, and Erika Morini (1904–1995) of Austria.

Career

Rubinstein toured as a young violinist in Europe and the United States. She gave a recital at Carnegie Hall in 1922. "There is repose and poise in her performance," commented the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reviewer Richard Aldrich, "but there is no lack of the brilliancy and spirit and rhythmic verve". She played in the American midwest and plains states in 1923 and 1924, and in California in 1925. She accompanied

Frieda Hempel Frieda Hempel (26 June 1885 – 7 October 1955) was a German lyric coloratura soprano singer in operatic and concert work who had an international career in Europe and the United States. Life Hempel was born in Leipzig and studied first at th ...

in a 1928 concert, and played in Minnesota and New York in 1929. Rubinstein appeared in two films, ''Stolen Wednesday'' (1933, also known as ''Tokajerglut''), and ''Under a Gypsy Moon'' (1938, a musical short). She was heard on the Bing Crosby radio program in 1939, and was a guest performer with the El Paso Orchestra that year.

Personal life

In 1944 Rubinstein married an American screenwriter, George Bruce. Their short and tumultuous marriage ended in divorce in 1946, after widely publicized allegations of cruelty and violence, including an accusation that Bruce twisted Rubinstein's hand badly enough to affect her musical ability. In the 1950s, she lived quietly with her mother in the

San Lorenzo, California San Lorenzo ( Spanish for "St. Lawrence") is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 29,581 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorpora ...

, and used the name Edna Ford. She did some translation for Hungarian refugees in the East Bay area. She died in 1966, in her sixties.

References

External links

* * , Erna Rubinstein plays "Sérénade Espagnole" by

Cécile Chaminade Cécile Louise Stéphanie Chaminade (8 August 1857 – 13 April 1944) was a French composer and pianist. In 1913, she was awarded the Légion d'Honneur, a first for a female composer. Ambroise Thomas said, "This is not a woman who composes, but a ...

Fritz Kreisler Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler (February 2, 1875 – January 29, 1962) was an Austrian-born American violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubenstein, Erna 1903 births 1966 deaths Hungarian classical violinists American classical violinists Musicians from Sibiu