Michael Rabin Paganini Concerto 1, mov. 1

1958 recording of American violinist Michael Rabin, age 22, playing Paganini's 1st concerto, 1st movement.

Played on the 1735 'Townley' Guarneri violin, previously played by Franz von Vecsey, Jan Kubelick, now belonging to Kyung Wha Chung. He bought it early in his career for USD$5,000. Certainly a fine violin, but he apparently expressed some regret for not purchasing the Kochanski Guarneri which was for sale at the same time for USD$25,000.

Rabin's first few performances at Carnegie Hall, at age 14, were recitals, but for his first appearance with full orchestra, he debuted with this piece at age 15 in '50 or '51. It was a staple in his repertoire, and he once said that he always gets the most applause when he plays "loud and fast Paganini". This is the first of his two recordings of this piece. People who saw Rabin recall live performances where he played with intensity that puts even this recording to shame!

The influence of 'bel canto' (beautiful singing) opera is clear in Paganini's composition, and Rabin really brings it in the passages played in high positions on the lower strings. Rabin's sense for rhythm, and technique good enough so that momentum never yields to technical challenge make a cohesive whole from all the parts, and an unequalled recording of this piece!

Rabin had a sister, Bertine, and a younger brother, Jay, who it is said was a piano prodigy. His mom was a piano teacher at Juilliard, and his dad a violinist, with, I believe, the NY philharmonic. Rabin started playing piano at age 5, but at age 7 picked up a toy violin when the family was visiting a friend's house, and would not put it down. The owner let Michael take the violin home, and he shortly started playing a real violin.

Within 6 weeks, his skill exceeded that of his father, and he was soon studying under the legendary Ivan Galamian at Meadowmount conservatory. Galamian said that Rabin had "no weakness, never" in his playing. Peers would often ask Michael how he did what he did, and upon thinking about this, Michael's technique faltered, and a new rule came to be: don't ask Michael how he does things.

While his mother's musical talent and drive can likely be thanked for ensuring the development of Michael's genius, this inflicted costs on him. Practicing was the main thing, and this impacted normal childhood. He played all over, and, among other things, he liked cars and planes, and kept models of all aircraft he had flown in, and a log of total miles. Touring sounds like it was tough at times, with a five-month tour of Australia at age 15! Somehow, in the face of his playing, the media there latched on to a quote from him that they interpreted to express some sentiment of American pride, or something about baseball, and gave him heat over this...at age 15. Brutal, hard to believe the "journalists" ever attended a concert.

He recorded a fair bit starting at 12, both live and in studio, after a producer heard him and, thankfully, realized he had to be recorded right away. I believe his first recordings were 11 Paganini caprices at age 12, available with various other pieces shortly after on his album "The Early Years", which are mostly from age 12-15. While his complete recording a few years later of the 24 capricci are, by common standards, probably the better of two, these early recordings are top-notch, and have spectacular highlights. Listening to all his recordings, it is clear everyone around him was lit up, from the orchestras and pianists backing him, to the recording engineers. Due certainly to his tone, but also the skill of the engineers, he produced great recordings. In that of his caprices, it sounds like he is right in front of you in a small room, no big hall reverb. Rather than highlighting errors, this clarity and resolution only illuminates the finest and most beautiful details of his playing. From someone who was well known for the rich, brash, exuberant tone, the softest notes really stand out in his earliest recordings, with their heart-touching gentleness.

In his 20s, he developed anxiety about falling off stage, and started playing near the middle of the orchestra. A doctor prescribed him Doriden, an early benzodiazepine, for this anxiety, since discontinued for side effects. Benzodiazepines are about as physically addictive as any drugs get, and withdrawal is prolonged and crippling, and can last years, absolute physical and mental nightmare, the worst thing imaginable for a violinist short of getting hit by a truck. There came a point when, for the first time ever, he showed weakness in playing, and people could see something was wrong. He sought treatment, staying in Mt. Sinai hospital for over a year to withdraw begin recovering. In his early 30s, he resumed publicly playing, met a love, and was back on track. Then, at age 36, in 1972, Michael did not return his girlfriends calls one day. Tragically, he was found dead - he slipped on a freshly waxed floor and hit his head on a table.