Michael Rabin Violin

Released to commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Michael Rabin's death on 19th January 1972 this collection brings together his finest recordings on EMI Classics in one comprehensive 6CD set.
Rabin was widely regarded as the finest virtuoso violinist of his generation and despite dying at the young age of 36 after suffering with a neurological illness his fame continues long after his death.

Separately, Paganini's Caprices (24) are among the most difficult pieces ever written for the violin. Together, they are the very definition of violin virtuosity. And not just technical virtuosity, but tonal and even emotional virtuosity. Playing the notes perfectly is the beginning – not the end – of performing the Caprices: playing the notes with exquisite beauty and emotional expressivity is the goal of performing the Caprices.

Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His Caprice No. 24 in A minor, Op. 1, is among the best known of his compositions, and has served as an inspiration for many prominent composers.

50 Best is a series of 3-CD sets which feature genres of music ranging from symphonies, concertos and solo instrumental works to chamber music, songs and operas.

Ricci’s recording of Sibelius’s Violin Concerto falls between Jascha Heifetz’s two (1935 and 1959) and straddles the demonic energy of the first and the icy mystery of the second. Decca’s engineers (Cyril Windebank and Gordon Parry, in this case) reproduce the sharp bite of the brass and clarity of the strings. They also project Ricci forward so as to capture the cleanness of his playing and the richness of his tone.

Wieniawski’s notorious F sharp minor Concerto, with its perilous opening chain of consecutive tenths, was for a long time the preserve of the few brave enough to take it on, most notably Michael Rabin, Itzhak Perlman, Midori and Gil Shaham. Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of interest and this latest release from Soo-Hyun Park, whose various mentors include Dora Schwarzberg, is also extremely accomplished. If the aforementioned swash their virtuoso buckles imposingly, Park places the emphasis on velvet-toned lyricism rather than pyrotechnical histrionics. She also plays with an unusually wide dynamic range, drawing the listener in with her imaginative phrasing, preferring the elegant poise of a fencing champion to piratical cut and thrust.

Say you start a group called the Society for New Music, commission composer-stars-in-the-making and do it for thirty years straight, you might expect your scrapbooks to be quite interesting. What you might not realize is that your efforts now constitute a major segment of the backbone of contemporary American concert music and you have premiered a boatload of chamber works by composers who have gone on to distinguished careers. Such is the case with Syracuse’s Society for New Music founded by Neva Pilgrim, who opened their treasure chest of commissioned works from 1972 – 2002 and has put them together as the 5-CD set entitled “American Masters for the 21st Century.”