Benno Rabinof (1902–1975), a violinist, was the last of Leopold Auer's famous students, who also included Efrem Zimbalist, Mischa Elman, and Jascha Heifetz.
In the late thirties and early forties, Benno played 28 different concertos in a series of 28 weekly WOR broadcasts under the baton of Alfred Wallenstein.
As a child and teenager, Sylvia attended the Third Street Music School Settlement, later continuing her piano studies with Paderewski, Simon Barere, and Rudolf Serkin.
Benno and Sylvia married in 1943 and began concertizing around the world together, performing violin and piano sonatas, as well as appearing in solo recitals and as soloists with major orchestras.
In May 1965, a High Fidelity reviewer wrote, “Rabinof’s pulsating, glossy tone and his spectacular velocity definitely bear the Auer label, long a distinguishing trademark in the annals of violin playing.
For some 30 years, Sylvia wrote biographies of musicians and articles about improvisation for Junior Keynotes magazine, a publication of the National Federation of Music Clubs.