Track Listing

1. Nocturne for piano No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27/2, CT. 115
2. Caprice for violin & piano in A minor (transcription of work by Wieniawski)
3. Jeunes Filles au Jardin, arrangement for violin & piano (Scenes d'enfant No. 5)
4. Etude for piano in D flat major, Op. 8/10
5. La plus que lente, waltz for piano (or orchestra), L. 121
6. Malague�a y Habanera, for violin & piano, Op. 21: No. 2 Habanera
7. La capricieuse -- morceau de genre, for violin & piano, Op. 17
8. Sea-Shell for violin & piano
9. Playera y zapateado, for violin & piano, Op. 23: Zapateado No.2
10. Vocalise-�tude en forme de Habanera, for voice & piano
11. The Love for Three Oranges, suite for orchestra, Op. 33 bis: March
12. Pieces (4) for violin & piano, Op. 17: No. 4: Burleska

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #431549 in Music
• Released on: 1999-01-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
Michael Rabin streaked to fame as a teenager, touted as the inheritor of Heifetz's mantle. Alas, deep personal problems derailed his career and he died young in 1972. But his phenomenal recordings live on, sparking a cult following whose enthusiasm can be shared via this scintillating recital, made up of stereo bon-bons from 1959 and mono Bach and Ysaÿe sonatas from 1955. In an age inundated by adolescent fiddlers, its good to hear the real thing--a young man playing with technical wizardry and mature breadth unmatched by run-of-the-mill prodigies or, indeed, by seasoned veterans. For a taste of Rabin's unblemished virtuosity and infinitely varied coloristic sense, listen to the Mompou, played with languorously seductive wit, or the sentimental Engels piece, taken at a soulful wallow, or the blistering Sarasate "Zapatadeo," full of high-register hijinks, or, perhaps best of all, the Suk "Burleska," which features immaculate intonation at warp speeds. In the great Bach sonata, Rabin invests the opening Adagio with deep yearning and clarifies every strand of the big fugue that follows. This disc is 77 minutes of violinistic bliss. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

effervescent violin
This unexpected, delightful potpourri of violin pieces is bound to lift the heart and tickle the mind of even the most jaded and difficult-to-please fan of the instrument. Rabin's virtuoso style is at once playful and serious, in a way that seems impossible adequately to describe. The pieces are wonderful; several are new to the ear and evidently were composed to let the instrument show off in various ways. But even the Chopin nocturne that begins this cd is performed in a novel, rich, expansive style that seems, amazingly, both emotional and clinically detached. This recording is a joy in any context, but perfect for the car in heavy traffic, when shutting out a crude world has strong appeal.