Mario Raskin (born 1951) is an Argentine harpsichordist. He was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and lives in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Background

Raskin was born in

, and studied music at the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires. He developed an interest in the

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

and chose it early in his studies as his primary instrument. He also studied

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

, analysis and composition. He was a fellow of the Fundación Bariloche, where he received instruction from Monica Cosachov. In 1978 he met Rafael Puyana in Buenos Aires and was offered an internship at the Festival of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

and Saint Jacques de Compostela. He then moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to continue his training with the Colombian harpsichordist. In 1980, during a workshop given by

Kenneth Gilbert Kenneth Albert Gilbert (December16, 1931April15, 2020) was a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and music educator. Biography Born in Montreal, Gilbert studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal under Yvonn ...

and Scott Ross, he was invited to continue his studies at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and he went on to obtain a Masters in Performance from Laval University in 1983.Raskin Bio

Music career

After completing his studies, Raskin returned to Paris in 1983 to pursue a career as a harpsichord soloist and chamber musician. He has recently performed recitals and conducted master classes in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

Master classes
and Buenos Aires. He has also appeared in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Alcala de Henares,

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and in several cities in France. He became the first Argentine harpsichordist to participate in the

Festival van Vlaanderen Festival of Flanders () is an annual music event at different locations in Flanders. It started initially as a "Summer Festival", but now its activities are spread from January to May, with a peak in late summer and early autumn. History The Festi ...

competition in

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. With harpsichordist

Oscar Milani Oscar Milani (born November 24, 1946, in Rosario, Argentina), is an Argentine musician. A Bariloche Foundation scholarship holder, he went to Buenos Aires to specialize; harpsichord, chamber music, and interpretation on early keyboard instruments. ...

, Raskin has formed a duo that records and performs regularly in concert. Part of their program includes transcripts of works by Piazzolla and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

performed on two harpsichords. Raskin teaches harpsichord at the music school at

Joinville-le-Pont Joinville-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur (literally "The Branch of Saint-Mau ...

. He was also the artistic director of "Season Montsoreau Musical" (Maine et Loire), created in 1996, for seven years. Raskin has recorded works by Duphly,

Forqueray Forqueray is the surname of a family of baroque French musicians and composers, and may refer to one of these articles below: * Antoine Forqueray (1672–1745), composer and virtuoso of the viola da gamba, father of Jean-Baptiste. * Jean-Baptiste ...

Soler Soler may refer to: People with the surname Soler Arts and entertainment * Álvaro Soler (born 1991), Spanish singer-songwriter * Amalia Domingo Soler (1835–1909), Spanish writer * Andrés Soler (1898–1969), Mexican actor * Antonio Soler (c ...

, Boutmy,

Royer Royer may refer to: Surnames *Alain de Royer-Dupré, French racehorse trainer * Alphonse Royer, French writer * Augustin Royer, French astronomer * Bentley Royer, a Dominican politician * Casey Royer, American drummer * Charles Royer, former mayor ...

and ''Tangos'' by Piazzolla for two harpsichords.

Background

Music career

References

Further reading