Michael Rabin - Méditation by Massenet

[bratsheMag]

Gorgeous! The best violinist, for me.

[peltovsk]

No piękna  muzyka , geniusz......

[polygyros121299]

Sweet and genius!

[MrGreenbows]

emotional content with purity.. utterly unsurpassable

[hophmi]

At his best, Michael Rabin played with the perfection of Heifetz, but with a bigger heart. Most tragic violin loss of the 20th century along with Neveu.

[MidniteHasStruck]

I think he plays it slightly higher (not sharp) than most performer's I have heard. It lightens the mood a little. This rendition is most definitely magical.

[tukkomi2]

Couldn’t be better. I think he is the best violinist ever for this kind of sweet pieces.

This reminds me of his rendition from the Magic Bow that I used to listen long time ago.

[hophmi]

@tukkomi2 I think this must be from The Magic Bow. One the greatest encore violin records ever.

[jchborg90277]

My single most beloved vioin perf...astonishing in every respect.

[henry89it]

really cinematographic!

[TimeStrider]

Rabin had a way with using portamento in his playing, combined with that gorgeous vibrato, gave his playing a luscious, emotion-charged sound.

[hi123456789011]

0 dislikes, that tells us something

[fredvogels]

I made a tribute website michaelrabin doot com because of his wonderful work. I hope to gather more information about him and his work. Lots of music of him is there

[fredvogels]

I made a tribute website michaelrabin doot com because of his wonderful work. I hope to gather more information about him and his work. Lots of music of him is there

[philmkim]

I'll admit it: I wept.

[fallenxmind]

oh my goodness. i think i almost cried..

[MrFiorinoN]

From the dawn of the first tone, the most charming Massenet's Meditation probably, here on youtube...enthralling vibrato on the waves of a shining, marvelous tone

[Patpoussin]

Michaelthebest indeed and definitively the best.

[TheMmesser]

This is , without doubt, the closest to perfection that can be achieved.. I recently played this piece at my mother's funeral and I just wish I could have come even close to this sublime playing.. the line is just seemless and continous, the phrasing is magical. Even the great sighing at the end coda just throbs with graceful pathos. I was privileged to hear Szeryng play this live over 40 years ago and Maestro Szeryng, while wonderful, did not reach this level

[ddviolinist]

Still at it, I see......Wow, get a life. I saw you trashing Vengerov like a year ago, I think. And here you are, STILL trashing him. Do you have ANYTHING better to do?

[ddviolinist]

Love Perlman's playing, but he doesn't make me cry. Rabin makes me cry with this piece. It just rings me out.

[carrottoponcrak]

wtf?

[RHM741]

He played with a voice that flowed out from his being, intimate, poignant and compelling. The mood and tone are masterfully executed for the theme, and merge one into the reality of Meditation - a profound quest for the resolution of life. One comes out of this soft weeping feeling being in communion and uplifted for the nobility of existence.

[Thank you for sharing this musical gem.]

[assindiastignani]

After how many years (?) this performance of this piece is still untouched. The violin literally "weeps" in Rabin's man's hands.

[mooreofjessica0x0x]

amazing

[johan52312]

unglaublich gut, visionär wie kein anderer...

[sevcik2]

Magical....

[77Opera]

Only one word: "Sublime!"

[Nightsurf59]

Perlman is certainly and amazing talent....and his offering of "Meditation" is extraordinary...with performers of this magnitude comparisons become quite difficult.

[seaknight500]

i think itzhak perlman's version is better

[oldpython]

Is better the correct word or maybe of your liking for the recognizable differences that please you. Surely all the talents of this extreme are never out done or beaten; possibly their ilk of friendship has never found it's way in to your heart.

[oldpython]

You're not sure? Listen to it again.

[Nightsurf59]

Th record is clear ..he died in his apartment..probably as the result of a fall brought on by the neurological ailment that took him from us so very , very early. What a shame.

[ddviolinist]

Hard to say. In the Art of Playing Violin, they say it was a drug over dose. There isn't a consistent story. Also, he was very unhappy, trying to hide the fact he was gay. He had a sad life. Such a shame. Such an incredible gift. I wish he could have enjoyed his stay here. You can hear his sweet soul in his playing.

[palmerplantagenet]

I heard this great artist when he was only a boy - mid teens - very refined and delicate sort of like Dinu Lipatti. The same piece my older sister played some years before during WW2 in Lincoln Park auditorium in Santa Monica, CA one rainy night. I was 3 and very proud of her - her first solo.

[assindiastignani]

Brilliant Palmerplantagenet. Dinu Lipatti - that is the perfect comparison. Nobody plays like that at that age - it almost makes you believe in re-incarnation. When I listen to Rabin I always feel that is a soul that's lived before.

[carrottoponcrak]

umm no, head trauma made him develop a brain tumor from which he died later

[oldpython]

jealousy a decease.

[koreangirl99]

he died by slipping on the floor and he hit his head on the chair :(

[yttrium55]

amazing. i heard about him, but never imagined that he would be this good.

[vwyho]

Excellent inyerpretation and violin technique brings out the elixir of the piece.

Bravo! Alas, his premature death brings his music to a abrupt end in a auto accident (?)

[assindiastignani]

Of course it is all so subjective, but for some reason this performance moves me in a way that no other does. There's an anguisch und a pain in this playing which, particularly in light of the tragic way Rabin's life ended, are simply heart breaking.

[tobiasundry]

listen to the recordings of hassid or kreisler doing this piece. It's a different sound from that of rabin, milstein, and vengerov. In many ways I enjoy their recordings better.

[michaelrabinthebest]

I understand what you say.. Hassid has a way of playing that transcends the nature of the violin.. he's an exception.. However I enjoy much Rabin's interpretation

[paulostroff99]

@michaelrabinthebest -IMHO Hassid,Rabin,and Hirshorn were the three very best. Heifetz.Elman and Milstein were not very far behind if indeed they trailed at all.

[Scrufftar]

This is absolutely sublime. I actually prefer this to the Vengerov mediation. It's still as romantic and as passionate, but it's much more elegant and as such, effective while retaining the heart and soul this piece requires. It's enough to bring tears to one's eyes

[legman36]

IMHO Rabin had the most beautiful tone ever. After 35 years he's still my favorite violinist of all time. This recording is enough to bring tears to your eyes.

[cattleman6420012000]

He was the most heavenly violinist.

[gerryrains]

cattleman,

Have you heard the Meditation performed by Maxim Vengerov or Nathan Milstein. They're both on YT videos. Personally, I would order them:

1. Vengerov

2. Rabin

3. Milstein

Gerry

[OriginalMoonbeam]

absolutely beautiful!

[cogermax91]

B E A U !!!!!! T R E S B E A U !!!!!!