Ezra Rachlin

Ezra Rachlin (5 December 1915 – 21 January 1995) was an American conductor and pianist.

Rachlin was born in Hollywood and first showed an interest in the piano at the age of three. He gave his first full-length recital at age five. The Rachlins moved to Germany to assist Ezra in his studies. He performed at various salon concerts, including many at the house of the Abegg family, for whom Robert Schumann had written his Abegg Variations. Another pianist featured there was the 18-year-old Vladimir Horowitz. He became bilingual in German. He also endured antisemitism.

By the time his family returned to the United States, when he was 12, Rachlin had earned a reputation as a virtuoso performer and was offered many concert engagements. He was chosen to be the first soloist under Leopold Stokowski in the Philadelphia Orchestra Youth Concerts. A Carnegie Hall debut at age twelve was followed by study with Leopold Godowsky and Josef Lhévinne. Godowsky was present at the Carnegie Hall recital and wrote to Josef Hofmann at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, recommending Rachlin as a student. At 13, he entered the Curtis Institute as its youngest ever pupil, to work with Hofmann.

In 1937, at age 22, Rachlin featured Sergei Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto in an extensive tour of European capitals, and the composer, who had always shown keen interest in Rachlin's talent, prepared it with him. Returning to the US with his concert career in full flourish, Rachlin joined the Curtis Institute as the youngest person on the faculty at the time.

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