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.