Michael Rabin – Mosaics Volume 2 (Stereo Version/180g LP)

Label: EMI Testament / Capitol Records TSP 8801

In 1950, when Michael Rabin made his official debut with the Philharmonic in his native New York City, conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos spoke of him as “the violin genius of tomorrow.” Sadly, although Rabin acquired a reputation as a coruscating virtuoso, his death in 1972, at age 35, prevented the full blooming of his talent. Among his celebrated recordings for the Capitol label was a 1959 album of encore pieces titled Mosaics; and his last Capitol sessions in 1961 were devoted to a second sequence of 10 pieces, with Brooks Smith — best remembered as Jascha Heifetz’s accompanist — at the piano. For reasons unrelated to the quality of the playing or the recordings, this second anthology was never released, but EMI Testament is proud to present it now.