Babin, Victor

BABIN, VICTOR

BABIN, VICTOR (1908–1972), pianist and composer. Babin was born in Moscow. He graduated from the Riga Conservatory in 1928, and then studied composition with Franz Schreker and piano with *Schnabel in the Berlin Hochschule fuer Musik (1928–31). He married the Russian pianist Victoria (Vitya) Vronsky in 1933 and with her formed a two-piano team, which soon became the most celebrated in the world. They immigrated to the United States in 1937; from 1951 to 1955, Babin was director of the Aspen Institute, Colorado, and director of the Cleveland Institute of Music from 1961 until his death. Babin composed mostly for Vronsky/Babin performances. Among his works are two concertos for two pianos and orchestra and other compositions for one and two pianos, chamber music and songs.