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Youthful Pianist Tells of Encore Troubles

January 24, 1934
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Ruth Slenczynski, eight-year-old piano prodigy, returned yesterday from her first concert tour of the country and told the story of her conflict with Bernardino Molinari, noted conductor. “He told me to play all the encores I wanted”, the little girl declared. Ruth played in San Francisco on January 18 for the benefit of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. She played the First Beethoven Concerto.

“They applauded and applauded”, the little girl said, “and I asked could I play encores, and he said play all you want.”

“So I went back and played. I must have played. I must have played six or eight without stopping. Then Richard Tobin, president of the orchestra, came out and tried to stop me. Finally my daddy came out and I stopped.

“And then I went backstage and Molinari called me names-all kinds of names in Italian and said it was a show not a concert. He put on

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