Luba Edlina Dubinsky

Internationally renowned concert pianist Luba Edlina Dubinsky died on Thursday, October 4, 2018 at Hearthstone Health Campus and is deeply mourned by the world wide music community. She was born in Ukraine (then part of the USSR) in 1929 and started playing the piano when she was 5 years old. By 17 she was accepted into the prestigious Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where she was a student of Yakov Flier. She went on to become one of the leading pianists of the Soviet Union, traveling throughout the country and overseas. In 1950 she married Rostislav Dubinsky (Rosti), who was a founding member and first violinist of the legendary Borodin String Quartet and for 20 years she was a constant partner of the Quartet within the USSR, although travel restrictions at that time did not permit the pair the travel together outside the country. In 1976 Luba and Rosti were able to emigrate to the West and together with their mothers, they settled in the Netherlands, where she taught at the Rotterdam Conservatory. She and Rosti formed the Borodin Duo and, with fellow émigré cellist Yuli Turovsky, the Borodin Trio. For the next 20 years she toured extensively throughout the world with these chamber groups and recorded many CDs for Chandos Records of London, England. In 1981 she moved with her the family to Bloomington where she and Rosti joined the faculty of the School of Music at Indiana University (now the Jacobs School of Music). In 1987 Luba and Rosti became proud and patriotic American citizens. Luba’s mother and mother-in-law both lived in Bloomington with Luba and Rosti until their deaths. In 1997, Luba’s beloved Rosti was lost to cancer. In addition to her music, Luba’s great pride was her table, and she entertained her friends extensively with lavish Russian-style dinners. Until she entered Hearthstone Medical Campus in 2017, a regular group of friends gathered at her home every New Year’s Eve to celebrate the coming year with wonderful food and vodka! She is survived by her cousin, Victor Mishkevic and his wife, Aza. She is mourned by her colleagues and especially by her closest friends, Stanley Ritchie, Elisabeth Wright and their daughter, Jessica Ritchie; Jerry Horner and Margaret Clements; James and Carol Campbell; Thelma and Mel Rice; Mimi Zweig and Atar Arad; and by the members of the Lafayette String Quartet in British Columbia – Anne Elliot Goldschmid, Sharon Stanis, Joanna Hood and Pam Highbaugh-Aloni. She and Rosti had no children of their own, but her loss grieves her many former students, who are scattered world-wide with successful music careers. Luba’s friends are grateful for the gentle, loving and respectful care she received at Hearthstone Health Campus, with special thanks to Renee and Wendy. A graveside service and internment will be held at Valhalla Memory Gardens on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. No flowers please, but donations to the Rostislav Dubinsky Memorial Scholarship Fund c/o Indiana University Foundation, or to the Monroe County Humane Association, would honor Luba’s memory and her legacy. A memorial concert will be held at a later date. Allen Funeral Home and Crematory, 4155 S. Old State Road 37, Bloomington, have been entrusted with arrangements. You are invited to share a memory or leave an online condolence at www.allencares.com

Tributes

Luba Edlina Dubinsky

September 28, 1929 - October 4, 2018