Stanley Babin (1932-2010) was a composer and pianist.

Life

Babin was born in 1932 to Lydia and David Babin, a rabbi. He had four siblings. The family emigrated to Tel Aviv in 1933 where he studied music with Frank Pelleg and made his official debut at Museum Hall in 1945. The young prodigy became his family's chief breadwinner, and Jerusalem and Tel Aviv acclaimed him with the post-war enthusiasm of the newborn nation. Two years later, Babin came to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to become the youngest pupil of

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

. From 1949 to 1953, he continued his studies in Philadelphia's all-scholarship Curtis Institute under the direction of

Isabella Vengerova Isabelle Vengerova ( be, Ізабэла Венгерава; 7 February 1956) was a Russian, later American, pianist and music teacher. She was born Izabella Afanasyevna Vengerova (Изабелла Афанасьевна Венгерова) in M ...

. He began a major career under the management of

Arthur Judson Arthur Leon Judson (February 17, 1881 – January 28, 1975) was an artists' manager who also managed the New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra and was also the founder of CBS. He co-founded the Handel Society of New York with entrepre ...

. After winning the first Concert Artists' Guild Award, he made his orchestral debut with

Dmitri Mitropoulos Dimitri Mitropoulos ( el, Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος; The dates 18 February 1896 and 1 March 1896 both appear in the literature. Many of Mitropoulos's early interviews and program notes gave 18 February. In his later interviews, howe ...

and the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and "reaped cheers" for his "exhilarating mastery" and "distinguished artistry" (''New York Times''). Soon followed a tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony performing the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2. His solo recitals covered all the North American states as well as Canada and major European capitals. For his European orchestral debut with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, he played Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto." ''Die Welt'' wrote of that performance, "Stanley Babin is a wizard of technique and a magician of sound." As composer, Babin presented the world premiere of his own Piano Concerto as soloist with the

Israel Philharmonic The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ''ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit ha-Yisra'elit'') is an Israeli symphony orchestra based in Tel Aviv. Its principal concert venue ...

under

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

. Babin's continuing studies of the Northwest Semitic languages, archeology of his desert childhood, and the Hebrew religious texts and cantillations have inspired such compositions as the "Eighth Psalm", "The Eternal Branch", and "Meditations on Job". His other works include a song cycle set to poetry by

Emily Dickinson Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (December 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886) was an American poet. Little-known during her life, she has since been regarded as one of the most important figures in American poetry. Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massach ...

. Stanley Babin died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in May 2010.

References

1932 births 2010 deaths American classical pianists American composers American male classical pianists American male composers Mandatory Palestine emigrants to the United States Deaths from lung cancer in the United States {{US-music-bio-stub