of seven children (one of whom died in infancy), including pianist Peter Serkin and cellist Judith Serkin. They had 15 grandchildren, including the composer David Ludwig and the bassoonist Natalya Rose Vrbsky. Serkin died of cancer on 8 May 1991, aged 88, at home on his Guilford, Vermont farm. His widow Irene Busch Serkin died in 1998. Awards and recognition Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1960) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1963) Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (1978) Kennedy Center Honors (1981) Member, American Philosophical Society (1983) Grammy Award for Best Chamber-Music Performance – Mstislav Rostropovich and Rudolf Serkin for Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38; and Cello Sonata No. 2 in F, Op. 99 (1984) National Medal of Arts (1988) References External links Free recordings by Rudolf Serkin on International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) JFK Presidential Library & Museum – Presidential Medal of Freedom Lifetime Honors – National Medal of Arts Schumann Piano Concerto, live recording, October 19, 1936, Queen’s Hall, London. London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Julius Harrison. 1903 births 1991 deaths People from Windham County, Vermont People from Cheb Austrian classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists Jewish classical pianists Jewish American classical musicians American music educators Piano pedagogues United States National Medal of Arts recipients Grammy Award winners Kennedy Center honorees Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Czech Jews Czech people of Russian-Jewish descent Deaths from cancer in Vermont Burials in Vermont 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Ernst von Siemens Music Prize winners Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) 20th-century American male musicians Naturalized citizens of the United States 20th-century American Jews Members of the American Philosophical Society