Violinist Rachel Barton Pine on the 25th Anniversary of Her Groundbreaking Album, Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries
Rachel Barton Pine
Anyone who's had the pleasure of seeing violinist Rachel Barton Pine perform live knows this is a musician who gives every performance her all. What many people will likely not know is how much that mesmerizing stage presence is informed and inspired by her love of heavy metal music.
"[In heavy metal], there's this 150% commitment to feeling the music and sharing it with the person farthest away in the venue," Pine shares on the latest episode of the Classical Post podcast. "That's something I try to do whether I'm playing things that are really bombastic or things that are perfectly calm. ... For me, sharing is what it all comes down to — knowing that I've done everything I can to share the most music with the most people."
Sharing a lot of music with a lot of people has been a throughline of Pine's career. Besides performing the standards of the violin repertoire, Pine has made it her mission for more than two decades to shine a light on music by underrepresented composers. Last year she released the 25th anniversary edition of her seminal album, Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries — a collection of works for violin and orchestra by Florence Price, Joseph Bologne, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, and José White Lafitte.
The overwhelming response to that album — produced long before classical music's concerted push for more diverse programming — inspired her to launch the Music by Black Composers initiative in 2001, which has not only collected more than 900 works by 450 composers of African descent, but also produced a variety of free educational resources so music lovers of all ages can access this incredible music.
In this episode, Pine and I talk more about the album and the impact of historical discrimination on the violin repertoire. Plus, she shares how finding a sense of purpose as a violinist fuels her energy and creativity, that time she heard authentic tango music in Uruguay, and her favorite place in New York City for vegan Italian food.
Listen to Violin Concertos by Black Composers Through the Centuries on Spotify, Apple Music, Idagio, or wherever you stream music.
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