Editing Anton Rubinstein (section)

===American tour===
By 1867, ongoing tensions with the Balakirev camp, along with related matters, led to intense dissension within the Conservatory's faculty. Rubinstein resigned and returned to touring throughout Europe.<ref>[[#Sachs|Sachs]], 73</ref> Unlike his previous tours, he began increasingly featuring the works of other composers. In previous tours, Rubinstein had played primarily his own works.<ref>[[#Taylor|Taylor]], 124.</ref>

[[File:Anton Rubinstein headstone in Tikhvin Cemetery.jpg|thumb|Rubinstein headstone in [[Tikhvin Cemetery]], [[Saint Petersburg]]]]
At the behest of the [[Steinway & Sons]] piano company, Rubinstein toured the United States during the 1872–73 season. Steinway's contract with Rubinstein called on him to give 200 concerts at the then unheard-of rate of 200 dollars per concert (payable in gold—Rubinstein distrusted both United States banks and United States paper money), plus all expenses paid. Rubinstein stayed in America 239 days, giving 215 concerts—sometimes two and three a day in as many cities.

Rubinstein wrote of his American experience, <blockquote>May Heaven preserve us from such slavery! Under these conditions there is no chance for art—one simply grows into an automaton, performing mechanical work; no dignity remains to the artist; he is lost... The receipts and the success were invariably gratifying, but it was all so tedious that I began to despise myself and my art. So profound was my dissatisfaction that when several years later I was asked to repeat my American tour, I refused pointblank...</blockquote>

Despite his misery, Rubinstein made enough money from his American tour to give him financial security for the rest of his life. Upon his return to Russia, he "hastened to invest in real estate", purchasing a [[dacha]] in [[Petergof|Peterhof]], not far from Saint Petersburg, for himself and his family.{{sfn|Barenboim|1957–1962|loc=115–116}}<ref>[[#Schonberg|Schonberg]], 276</ref><ref>[[#Sachs|Sachs]], 76.</ref>