Pure Analogue Audiophile Mastering – Pressed in Germany – Limited Edition

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. In the 1950s, Rabin signed with Capitol-EMI, for which he recorded the most important part of his legacy

Violin virtuoso Michael Rabin performs on this rare Columbia recording

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.

Sir Adrian Boult founded the BBC Symphony Orchestra which set standards of excellence in the orchestra world. In 1950, he took over the leadership of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and revived its reputation, which had been on the decline after its peak in the 1930s. From the mid-1960s until his retirement after his last sessions in 1978 he recorded extensively for EMI. Boult’s legacy includes his influence on prominent conductors to follow including Colin Davis and Vernon Handley.

The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain.

“Michael Rabin is a very remarkable young violinist, and admirably equipped to give us our first LP recording of Wieniawski’s rarely heard first concerto. It’s not much of a concerto, considered dispassionately, but it is a stout vehicle for technical display, and that is just what Rabin, discreetly abetted by Boult and the Philharmonia, provides. He rides this aged war-horse with an almost Quixotic conviction that is enjoyable and rather touching.” – Gramophone.net, J.N., June 1958 Issue

Michael Rabin, violin
Philharmonia Orchestra
Sir Adrian Boult, conductor