Michael Rabin, Violin = BRUCH: Violin Concerto No.1 Op.26 – Berlin RIAS Symphony Orchestra /Thomas Schippers; Virtuoso Pieces for Violin and Piano – WILLIAM KROLL: Banjo and Fiddle; Henryk Wieniawski / FRITZ KREISLER: Caprice A minor; TCHAIKOVSKY: Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42; SARASATE: Carmen-Fantasie Op. 25, Danzas Españolas Nos. 1, 2 & 6; SAINT-SAENS: Havanaise Op. 83 – Lothar Broddack, piano – Audite 95607 69:45 **** [Distrib. by Albany]:
Michael Rabin made some wonderful recordings for EMI/Capitol and Columbia in the 1950s and this release of a live performance of Bruch’s First violin concerto is all the more valuable as Rabin didn’t set down a studio performance of it. Ably accompanied by Thomas Schippers on 16/17 June 1969 Rabin opens with big tone and slow tempo setting the scene for a reading far from a superficial play through.
Rabin’s intonation is breathtaking, as always, and his view of the whole work the result of much thought; there are no “here’s a good bit” or “look how fast I can play this” moments. Norbert Horning, in his excellent essay accompanying this release, says Rabin’s bow “almost sucks the sound out of the strings” of his instrument, the Guarnerius del Gesu of 1735 ("The Townley") now owned by Kyung Wha Chung. The quick passages in the last movement show his infallible technique off to a tee.
And this technique is on show, too, in the “Virtuoso Pieces for Violin and Piano”. These were all recorded a few days earlier, on 12 June 1969, apart from the last piece, the Havanaise, which dates from an earlier visit during 1962. People can be a bit sniffy about virtuoso showpieces; in 1949 Kurt Weinhold wrote to Carl Jung about Gerhard Taschner “Please give him my sincere greetings, and tell him he should no longer play these virtuoso pieces; it sounds too pitiful and is not worthy of him. He does enormous harm to himself with them among all those who know their music.” Thank goodness Taschner did not heed the advice, and Rabin never felt above playing these pieces in the studio, in concert and on radio and television.
The delights here are in the middle section of “Banjo and Fiddle”, the bow control in the Sarasate pieces, and an unbuttoned Havanaise. Rabin had been ill between the recording of the Havanaise and the rest of the items here, reviving his career in the latter part of 1967; the later Rabin is less volatile and more thoughtful.
The virtuoso pieces are well recorded, all the 1969 ones in stereo, the piano a little backwardly balanced. The concerto’s sound is quite good, though the orchestral sound is somewhat recessed, but is more than good enough to convey music-making of great quality. Mastered from the original tapes, these recordings supplement Doremi’s recent release and are another valuable addition to Rabin’s discography.
— Peter Joelson
