Mario Raskin (born 1952) is an Argentine harpsichordist. He was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and lives in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

Background

Raskin was born in

, and studied music at the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires. He developed an interest in the

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and chose it early in his studies as his primary instrument. He also studied

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, analysis and composition. He was a fellow of the Fundación Bariloche, where he received instruction from Monica Cosachov. In 1978 he met

Rafael Puyana Rafael Antonio Lázaro Puyana Michelsen (14 October 19311 March 2013) was a Colombian harpsichordist. Puyana was born in Bogotá in 1931, and began piano lessons at age 6 with his aunt and at age 13 made his debut at the Teatro Colón in Bogot ...

in Buenos Aires and was offered an internship at the Festival of

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and Saint Jacques de Compostela. He then moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to continue his training with the Colombian harpsichordist. In 1980, during a workshop given by

Kenneth Gilbert Kenneth Albert Gilbert (December 16, 1931 – April 15, 2020) was a Canadian harpsichordist, organist, musicologist, and music educator. Biography Born in Montreal, Gilbert studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal under ...

and

Scott Ross Scott Ross may refer to: * Scott Ross (film executive) (born 1951), Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Digital Domain (1993–2006); pioneer in digital entertainment * Scott Ross, interviewer for ''The 700 Club'' with ties to various 1960s and 1970s roc ...

, he was invited to continue his studies at

Laval University Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxemb ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and he went on to obtain a Masters in Performance from Laval University in 1983.Raskin Bio

Music career

After completing his studies, Raskin returned to Paris in 1983 to pursue a career as a harpsichord soloist and chamber musician. He has recently performed recitals and conducted master classes in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

Master classes
and Buenos Aires. He has also appeared in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Alcala de Henares,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and in several cities in France. He became the first Argentine harpsichordist to participate in the

Festival van Vlaanderen Festival of Flanders ( nl, Festival van Vlaanderen) is an annual music event at different locations in Flanders. It started initially as a "Summer Festival", but now its activities are spread from January to May, with a peak in late summer and earl ...

competition in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

. With harpsichordist

Oscar Milani oscR miLanI (born November 24, 1946 in Rosario, Argentina), is an Argentine musician. A Bariloche Foundation scholarship holder, he went to Buenos Aires to specialize; harpsichord, chamber music, and interpretation on early keyboard instruments ...

, Raskin has formed a duo that records and performs regularly in concert. Part of their program includes transcripts of works by Piazzolla and

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

performed on two harpsichords. Raskin teaches harpsichord at the music school at

Joinville-le-Pont Joinville-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History The commune was created in 1791 under the name La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur (literally "The Branch of Saint-Maur ...

. He was also the artistic director of "Season Montsoreau Musical" (Maine et Loire), created in 1996, for seven years. Raskin has recorded works by Duphly, Forqueray,

Soler Soler may refer to: * Soler Township, Roseau County, Minnesota * Soler (band), Hong Kong based rock band * Soler (grape), French wine grape, also known as Peloursin People with the surname Soler * Alay Soler (born 1979), Cuban baseball player ...

, Boutmy,

Royer Royer may refer to: Surnames *Alain de Royer-Dupré, French racehorse trainer *Alphonse Royer, French writer *Augustin Royer, French astronomer *Bentley Royer, a Dominican politician *Casey Royer, American drummer *Charles Royer, former mayor of Se ...

and ''Tangos'' by Piazzolla for two harpsichords.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raskin, Mario Living people Argentine emigrants to France Argentine classical pianists French harpsichordists 21st-century classical pianists 1952 births