Raquel Barton Pino (1974-) appears to have an incredibly wide range of musical interests and has managed to successfully integrate them into his musical career. From the often little-known early Baroque composers, to an expanded appreciation of the great Romantic works, an intelligent selection of post-1900 composers (many of them little known) and some notable works commissioned by and for her, and heavy metal rock. And the one common thread that she seems to characterize, in this listener's ear, his strength is the ability to choose substantial music and then create revelatory interpretations of those works.
Here he explores the sonic geography of anguish and redemption in these two violin concertos written by some. And this album embodies some of the qualities that make this violinist one who clearly stands out from the crowd, but in a way that is about identity rather than hierarchy. His broad musical interests are part of his sonic autobiography. Here she reveals her interest and commitment to “heavy metal” music, a rock genre that began around 1970. In her notes she talks about this and manages to convincingly demonstrate a kind of “proto-metal” aspect in the first selection , the Shostakovich (1906-1975) First Violin Concerto of 1947-8, a work notorious for its censorship (the second of several such complaints against the composer's career) under the Zhdanov Doctrine. It was not released until 1955.
This somber masterpiece was written in the shadow of the horrors of World War II (it ended only about three years before he completed this work) and reflects the composer's deeply felt emotional memories. It did not even remotely comply with the restrictions imposed by the oppressive regime. They did not want to be reminded, much less honored, of the atrocities and horrors of war. Its premiere in 1955 (about two years after Josef Stalin's death) by its dedicatee, the great David Oistrakh, earned the concerto a place in the respected violin concerto repertoire. The four-movement work is not what you want at a party unless you are trying to create a funereal atmosphere, but it is quite beautiful in a great romantic language with modernist overtones, with all the hallmarks of the composer's wry humor and the deep empathy of he.
The second selection, written some 80 years after the Shostakovich concerto, is commissioned by a self-described “heavy metal” violinist named Earl Maneein. His is a new name to these ears, but clearly steeped in experience in classical composition and heavy metal music, both influenced by his spiritual practice of Buddhism.
Here is music from a composer who really understands classical composition, and his integration of “metal” elements is an expansion of classical composition, not a parody or amateur effort. This is a major concerto that gives the soloist the opportunity to showcase his technical and interpretive abilities. I don't know this musician and I'm not really sure what “metal music” means as it is practiced now, but I am absolutely captivated by this work.
So we have another typical Rachel Barton Pine album, an excellent reading of a classic (Shostakovich's is still a bit underappreciated) and a new work that is striving to become part of that repertoire and probably will succeed. Rachel's virtuosity and performing skills are clearly evident as always and her travels are effectively rethinking the canon of violin works. Bravo!
