Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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RIFKIN, Joshua

(b 22 April '44, NYC) Pianist, arranger, conductor. Studied at Juilliard, composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen in Germany. Arr./cond. Judy Collins's Wildflowers LP on Elektra, her biggest hit (no. 5 '68 incl. top ten 'Both Sides Now'). The Baroque Beatles Book '65 on Elektra had classical-style variations on Beatle songs, Rifkin cond. the 'Baroque Ensemble of the Merseyside Kammermusikgesellschaft', made top 100 LPs USA; then he was instrumental in the ragtime revival with three solo LPs of Piano Rags By Scott Joplin, which began '70, won Billboard and Stereo Review records of the year awards, charted '74 (the year of the film The Sting, whose soundtrack was a no. 1 LP) and were the biggest-selling albums in Nonesuch's history. Toured and appeared on TV in UK; made classical LPs on Nonesuch with English ensembles; remade digital recordings of rags on EMI; conducted Bach on L'Oiseau Lyre/Florilegium mid-'80s. The Joplin rags compiled on a Nonesuch CD '97 sounded as good as ever; Rifkin's sympathy with composers made him a great all- rounder.