Michael Rabin managed to be one of the most talented and tragic violin virtuosi of his generation! 

 

Hailed as a child prodigy, his talent matured gracefully into an adult level, but he failed to follow in his emotional growth, resulting in a cutting short of his career. He never reached the age of 36, yet remains one of the most fondly remembered of virtuoso violinists for listeners and fellow musicians. 

 

Violinist Michael Rabin is accompanied by pianist Leon Pommers for this recording of compositional works by Debussy, Chopin, Scriabin, Elgar and more!

 

Despite its entirely unaccompanied recordings of Bach, Ysaÿe and Paganini: Too little chamber music products are available from this enigmatic virtuoso. On this LP - perhaps his most beautiful at all - he is, however, only accompanied by Leon Pommers at the piano, and in this intimate setting his tone, so indescribably melting, seems to unfold better than ever before. The technical miracles (such as the long double-grip passages in the opening Chopin adaptation of August Wilhelmi) are hardly taken, Rabin fulfills the virtuoso additions of the program, which compose this program, with so much life and musicality that they have a secondary effect. (In fact, if you make sure you pay attention to them, you will soon be pale, whether it is Rabin's performance.) In our sober, technically-oriented world, such a master of romantic sound beauty would no longer be a place for a musician like Michael Rabin to return in the foreseeable future .

 

Musicians:

Michael Rabin, violin

Leon Pommers, piano

 

Selections:

 

Side One:

Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Nocturne, Op. 27

Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)

Caprice in A minor

Frederic Mompou (1893-1987)

Jeunes filles au jardin

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)

Etude in Thirds

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

La plus que lente

Pablo Sarasate (1844-1908)

Habanera

 

Side Two:

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

La Capricieuse

Carl Engel (1883-1944)

Sea-Shell

Pablo Sarasate

Zapsteado

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Piece en forme de habanera

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

March (Love for Three Oranges)

Josef Suk (1874-1935)

Burleska