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.

Serkin, Rudolf

(born March 28, 1903, Eger, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary—died May 8, 1991, Guilford, Vt., U.S.) Austrian-born U.S. pianist. He made his debut at age 12 in Vienna, and from 1920 he was a close associate of the conductor Adolf Busch, whose daughter he married in 1935. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1939 and began teaching at the Curtis Institute, of which he served as director (1968–75). In 1950 he and Busch cofounded the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, which under Serkin's direction became the preeminent locus for chamber music in the U.S. He was known for his highly intelligent and expressive but self-effacing playing of the German-Austrian classics. His son, Peter (b. 1947), is a well-known pianist, with a wide repertoire.

Serkin, Rudolf (1903–91) pianist; born in Eger, Bohemia. In childhood he studied piano and composition in Vienna, making his recital debut at age 12. He became well-known both for his solo performances and for his chamber-music recitals with violinist Adolf Busch. After making his American debut in 1933, he moved to the U.S.A. in 1939 to join the faculty of the Curtis Institute, whose director he became from 1968 to 1976. In 1949 he helped found the important summer music school at Marlboro, Vt. Admired for his insightful performance of the Austro-German classical repertoire, he also successfully played Chopin, Debussy, and Bartók.