Rubinstein first studied in Warsaw and with Joseph Joachim in Berlin. He made his debut in Berlin in 1900, followed by appearances in Germany and Poland and further study with Karl Heinrich Barth. In 1904, he went to Paris, where he met the composers Maurice Ravel, Paul Dukas, and the violinist Jacques Thibaud. He also played Camille Saint-Sadns' Piano Concerto No. 2 in the presence of the composer. Through the family of Juliusz Wertheim (to whose understanding of Chopin's genius he attributed his own inspiration in the works of that composer) he formed a friendship with the violinist Pawel Kochanski, which led later to artistic and social involvement with Karol Szymanowski.[3]

Rubinstein made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall in 1906, and thereafter toured the United States, Austria, Italy, and Russia. According to his own testimony and that of his son in Frantois Reichenbach's film L'Amour de la vie (1969), however, he was not well received in the United States, and in 1907, when he found himself destitute and desperate in a Berlin hotel room, hounded by creditors and threatened with being thrown out into the street, he tried to hang himself, but failed, and then felt "reborn" with a great love of life. In 1912, he made his London debut, and was frequently in London until 1914 in the musical salon of Paul and Muriel Draper, in company with Kochanski, Stravinsky, Jacques Thibaud, Pablo Casals, Pierre Monteux and others.[4]

During World War I Rubinstein lived mainly in London, accompanying the violinist EugFne Ysa e. From 1916 to 1917, he toured Spain and South America, developing an enthusiasm for the music of Enrique Granados, Isaac AlbTniz, Manuel de Falla, and Heitor Villa-Lobos. He was the dedicatee of Villa-Lobos's RudepoOma and Stravinsky's Trois mouvements de Petrouchka.

In 1917, Rubinstein left Cßdiz, Spain with his music manager Ernesto de Quesada, on the Infanta Isabel to South America. He debuted on July 2, 1917 in the Teatro OdTon, in Buenos Aires. This tour included concerts in Buenos Aires, Montevideo,Uruguay, Santiago de Chile and Valparafso, Chile.

In 1921 he made two American tours, travelling to New York with Pawel Kochanski (who remained his lifelong friend) and Karol Szymanowski. The autumn voyage was the occasion of Kochanski's permanent migration to the USA.[5]

Rubinstein made numerous live-recording player piano music rolls for the Aeolian Duo-Art system and the American Piano Company (AMPICO), all of which survive today and can be heard. In 1932, he withdrew from concert life for several months to work on his technique and repertory. Astor Piazzolla cites a Rubinstein concert staged in Buenos Aires in 1939 as one his first great impressions, which led the 18-year-old to write and dedicate to Rubinstein a piano "concerto" , a definition that Rubinstein was to debate with the young composer.

Although best known as a recitalist and concerto soloist, Rubinstein was also considered an outstanding chamber musician, partnering with such luminaries as Henryk Szeryng, Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky, and the Guarneri Quartet. Of the piano solo repertoire Rubinstein recorded a vast portion, including innumerable Romantic composers. He recorded nearly all the works of Chopin. He was one of the earliest champions of the Spanish and South American composers and of French composers who, in the early 20th century, were still considered "modern" such as Debussy and Dukas. In addition, Rubinstein was the first champion of the music of his compatriot Karol Szymanowski. Rubinstein, in conversation with Alexander Scriabin, named Brahms as his favorite composer, a response that enraged Scriabin.[6]

Rubinstein was fluent in eight languages.[1] His photographic memory of much of the repertoire, not simply that of the piano, was formidable.[1] According to his memoirs, the pianist learned CTsar FranckÆs Symphonic Variations while on a train en route to the concert, without the benefit of a piano.</P