Michael Rabin

Michael Rabin was an American violinist born on May 2, 1936. He began his violin studies when he was seven. His father was a violinist in the New York Philharmonic. Heifetz, upon hearing him, recommended that he study with Ivan Galamian at Juilliard. By the time he made his Carnegie Hall (New York) debut in November of 1951, he had already appeared as soloist with a number of orchestras. It has been said that his mother was very pushy and hard on him, as was the mother of Guila Bustabo.  Rabin recorded many of the standard concertos as well as the Paganini Caprices, one of his favored recordings. He was also said to have recorded the Moto Perpetuo by Paganini (with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra) in one take. In his later years, beginning in about 1960, his playing began to decline noticeably. He had to cancel his performance at the inauguration of Philharmonic Hall on September 26, 1962 at the very last minute for health reasons. For some time, Rabin played the Kubelik Guarnerius (1735). He died (in New York) on January 19, 1972, at age 35. His cause of death has been the subject of much speculation. It has also been rumored that he suffered from mental illness, or drug addiction, or some nervous condition. Although all of his recordings are outstanding, his discography is quite limited due to his early demise.