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Sylvia Rabinof Collection

Sylvia Rabinof was born Sylvia Smith in New York on October 10, 1913. She died in Florida on January 20, 2001. Along with her husband, violinist Benno Rabinof, Sylvia Rabinof formed one of the more popular duos of her era. They extensively toured the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa throughout their career together. The duo performed a mix of classical and contemporary pieces. Sylvia Rabinof was also an author ("Musicianship Through Improvisation" and "The Improviser"), composer and teacher. She was a member of the faculties at SUNY Fredonia and Brevard Music Center.

The Sylvia Rabinof Collection contains concert programs, reviews and scrapbooks documenting Sylvia Rabinof’s concert career as a piano soloist along with her extensive concert activities with her husband, Benno Rabinof. Also contained are manuscripts, proofs and published scores of Sylvia Rabinof’s numerous arrangements and original compositions, along with various drafts and notebooks for her workshops on Musicianship Through Improvisation. The Sylvia Rabinof Collection also contains recordings of many live performances by the Rabinofs.

Photograph of Sylvia Rabinoff, pianist

SERIES DESCRIPTION

SERIES I - PERFORMANCE FILES

  • Scrapbooks
  • Sylvia Rabinof
  • Benno Rabinof
  • Benno and Sylvia Rabinof

SERIES II - TEACHING ACTIVITIES

  • Converse College Pre-College 
  • Juilliard School Pre-College Division
  • Master Classes
  • Musicianship Through Improvisation Seminars
  • Music Festivals

SERIES III - SUBJECT FILES

  • Musicians Club of New York (MCNY) 
  • National Federation of Music Clubs (NFMC)
  • Periodicals
  • Biographical and Professional Papers

SERIES IV: CORRESPONDENCE

SERIES V: AUDIO VISUAL

  • Unpublished Acetate and Transcription Discs
  • Commercially Issued LPs
  • Cassette Tapes 
  • Reel to Reel Tapes
  • VHS Tapes

SERIES VI: SCORES

  • Manuscripts and Proofs of Piano Works by Sylvia Rabinof
  • Published Piano Works by Sylvia Rabinof
  • Manuscripts of Vocal and Orchestral Works by Sylvia Rabinof
  • Works by Other Composers

SERIES VII: WRITINGS AND PEDAGOGICAL MATERIALS

  • Musicianship Through Improvisation
  • Research Materials
  • Articles
  • Unpublished Books
  • Materials from Benno and Sylvia Rabinof’s Student Years
  • Diaries and Datebooks

SERIES VIII: PHOTOGRAPHS

  • Sylvia Rabinof
  • Benno Rabinof
  • Sylvia and Benno Rabinof
  • Various Other People and Places

SERIES IX: MISCELLANEOUS

Last update: Jan 04, 2016

IPAM endeavors to respond to all inquiries concerning its collections and — whenever possible — to general reference questions about pianists, piano music, and piano recordings. (We cannot and do not provide information about pianos or the piano industry.) IPAM is open to visitors by appointment between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (Eastern Time), Mondays through Fridays, with rare exceptions.

Questions?  Comments?  Contact the curator at godowsky@umd.edu.