Rachmaninoff's last student, Ruth Slenchinska, died at the age of 101.

The last pupil of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, pianist Ruth Slenchinska, died on April 22 at the age of 101. This was reported on April 23 by The New York Times (NYT), citing a close friend of the pianist Randy Stahlman.

"Her death from complications after a fall was confirmed by Randy Stahlman. <...> At the time of her death, she was professor emeritus of music at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, where she taught from 1964 until her retirement in 1988," the publication says.

Ruth Slenczynska was born in Sacramento on January 15, 1925, and was the only child in a family of Polish immigrants. The pianist's father, Joseph Slenchinsky, subjected his daughter to a harsh schedule for many years, severely restricted her food, insulted and used physical violence. The publication clarifies that the pianist was considered a "burnt candle" by the age of 15.

Being a child prodigy, she debuted at the age of four in California, and after that she began giving concerts in the USA and Europe. In 2022, at the age of 97, she released the solo piano album "My Life in Music" on the Decca label, one of the compositions of which she dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninov.