The musical world lost one of its greatest virtuosos when violinist Michael Rabin died at the age of 36 in 1972. Rabin initially studied the violin with his father, a violinist with the New York Philharmonic. Young Michael moved on to intense study with legendary violinist Ivan Galamian and made his public debut at the age of 10. By the time he was 13 he had made his Carnegie Hall debut and he'd caught the attention of the famous conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. Mitropoulos called him 'the genius violinist of tomorrow already equipped with all that is necessary to be a great artist.'
This disc is another entry in the Masterworks Heritage series and features recordings Rabin made in the 1950s. The centerpiece of the recording is Rabin's astounding interpretation of the Op. 1 Caprices of Nicolò Paganini. Rabin's technique is stunning and features furious double stopping and rapid-fire runs. Equally breathtaking are his performances of music by Dvorak, Wieniawski, Kreisler and Bizet. The recording, like other Masterworks Heritage discs, includes photos of the artist and the original artwork from the 1950s LPs.

The Columbia Symphony may not have been a first-class orchestra, but Bruno Walter trained to do the right things, and it responded with first-class accounts of the Brahms symphonies. While there are instances of less-than-crack ensemble, there is also some very fine first-desk playing, and the performances as a whole are marked by a natural feeling of movement, phrasing, and expression. Walter’s approach to the music is kindly, caring, wonderfully whole – sunny but not overly brilliant, warm but not overly heated, sincere but not overly impassioned. Anyone who thinks that means the conductor was slow, shapeless, or indulgent should listen. There is thrust here, and plenty of momentum. The recordings are closely miked and somewhat bass-heavy, but in Sony’s 20-bit remastering the sound is wonderfully alive and direct. – Ted Libbey, author of The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection