Michael Rabin ( ; May 2, 1936January 19, 1972) was an American violinist. He has been described as "one of the most talented and tragic violin virtuosi of his generation". His complete Paganini "24 Caprices" for solo violin are available as a single CD, and an additional 6-CD set contains most of his concerto recordings. Despite his brief career—he died at 35—they remain seminal interpretations.

Biography

Michael Rabin was of Romanian- Jewish descent. His mother Jeanne was a Juilliard-trained pianist, and his father George was a violinist in the New York Philharmonic. He began to study the violin at the age of seven. His parents encouraged his musical development. After a lesson with Jascha Heifetz, the master advised him to study with

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman. Biography Galamian w ...

, who said he had "no weaknesses, never." He began studies with Galamian in New York and at the

Meadowmount School of Music The Meadowmount School of Music, founded in 1944 by Ivan Galamian, is a 7-week summer school in the town of Lewis (mailing address Westport) in Upstate New York for accomplished young violinists, cellists, violists, and pianists training for prof ...

and the Juilliard School. His Carnegie Hall debut took place in January 1950, at the age of 13, as soloist with the National Orchestral Association, playing Vieuxtemps' Concerto No. 5 under the direction of

Léon Barzin Léon Eugene Barzin (November 27, 1900April 19, 1999) was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association (NOA), the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States. Barzin was also the founding mu ...

. Subsequently, he appeared with a number of American orchestras before his

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

debut on 29 November 1951, at the age of 15, in the Paganini D major Concerto, with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting the New York Philharmonic. His 1958 recording of this concerto is considered by many to be the most impressive recording of this work, and the recording itself is notable for the fullness of tone. His first London appearance took place on 13 December 1954, at age 18, playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto in D at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Rabin recorded concertos by

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, Glazunov, Paganini (No. 1 in D major; 2 recordings), Wieniawski ( No. 1 in F-sharp minor, No. 2 in D minor) and Tchaikovsky, as well as Bruch's '' Scottish Fantasy'' and the Paganini Caprices for solo violin. He recorded the Bach Sonata No. 3 in C major for solo violin, and the Third and Fourth sonatas for solo violin by Eugène Ysaÿe, as well as other virtuoso pieces, including an album with the

Hollywood Bowl Orchestra The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (HBO) is a symphony orchestra which is managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and plays the vast majority of its performances at the Hollywood Bowl. John Mauceri led the orchestra from its founding in 1990 ...

. Rabin played in a

bel canto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

style. For many years, he played the "Kubelik" Guarnerius del Gesù of 1735. He toured widely, playing in all major cities in the U.S., Europe, South America, Southern Africa, and Australia. He even appeared on a 1951 episode of the variety television series " Texaco Star Theatre." During a recital in

, he suddenly lost his balance and fell forward. This was an early sign of a neurological condition which was to limit his career from then on. His death, at 35, resulted from a fall in his apartment in New York City.BBC Radio 3 – "The Life and Genius of Michael Rabin", 11 December 2012
Accessed 16 May 2015

References

* ''Michael Rabin: America's Virtuoso Violinist'', by

Anthony Feinstein Anthony Feinstein (born December 14, 1956) is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a neuropsychiatrist. His research and clinical work focuses on people with multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and Conversion Disorde ...

(2005) * Played the violin solos in the 1954 MGM film 'Rhapsody' starring

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

* CD program notes, Paganini Caprices Op. 1 for unaccompanied violin, Michael Rabin, EMI Classics {{DEFAULTSORT:Rabin, Michael 1936 births 1972 deaths American people of Romanian-Jewish descent American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists Juilliard School alumni Jewish violinists Jewish classical musicians Accidental deaths from falls 20th-century classical violinists Jewish classical violinists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American violinists