Rubinstein's Piano

Before the building at Piotrkowska 78 stands a bronze piano, at which sits a playing man. This is a monument to Arthur Rubinstein, one of the most outstanding pianists of the twentieth century, who lived at this very address in childhood.

Why this address

Arthur Rubinstein spent his childhood years in the building at Piotrkowska 78 before he left Łódź to pursue a career as a pianist around the world. For this reason, the monument dedicated to him was erected here, rather than elsewhere on the promenade.

What the monument looks like

The sculpture shows Rubinstein seated at a piano with his hands resting on the keyboard. The raised lid of the instrument resembles outstretched bird's wings, and a treble clef lies beside it. The monument was designed by Marcel Szytenchelm, creator of the entire Gallery of Great Łódź Citizens, and was cast in a Poznań foundry. It was unveiled on 23 September 2000, on the occasion of the World Meeting of Łódź Citizens.

A mechanism that stopped playing

After a coin was inserted, the monument originally played excerpts from works by Chopin and Tchaikovsky. The mechanism was switched off following a dispute over music performance rights, raised by a record publisher.

Family objection

The pianist's family opposed the unveiling of the monument. His daughter, Eva Rubinstein, considered the form of the sculpture to be insulting to her father's memory and did not visit Łódź for several years to attend ceremonies in his honour.

Part of a larger series

Rubinstein's Piano is one of the monuments of the Gallery of Great Łódź Citizens, a series of bronze sculptures placed along Piotrkowska since 1999. In the same series stands the Monument to Łódź Citizens a few hundred metres further on. On the other side of the street it is worth paying attention to the Palace of Maksymilian Goldfeder and the Former Hotel Victoria standing a little further on.

Practical information

• Address: Piotrkowska Street 78, Śródmieście, Łódź
• Getting there: city centre, trams and buses to stops at Piotrkowska/al. Piłsudskiego or Piotrkowska/Narutowicza
• What to expect: open-air monument accessible without time restrictions, a popular spot for photographs