Rachel Barton Pine fans will have a chance
to study the famous violinist’s chops in a Carl Fischer songbook that’s slated for release this month.
In the aptly titled The Rachel Barton Pine Collection,
the virtuoso treats readers to selections of original
compositions and arrangements from the past 17
years of her storied career, including the cadenzas
she’s written and performed for violin concertos from Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini, Clement, Berg, and Brahms.
Her introduction, theme, and variations on the anthem “God Defend New Zealand,” the perennial “The Birthday Song,” and the Icelandic children’s song “Allt í Grænum Sjó” are documented as well as her arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” among others.
“People have said, ‘Oh I have your CD and I really want to play this and where can I get the music?’”
Pine says. “This is wonderful because I
will no longer feel guilty and apologetic.”
Above all, Pine hopes her collection inspires musicians who are intimidated by the thought of daring to compose something of their own. “I hope that people will see that I took the plunge and think, ‘Well, maybe I could do this, too,’” she says. “What would really be great is if instead of knowing that a kid went out there and played my Mozart cadenza, which would already be a thrill, if I knew that a kid went out there and played her own Mozart cadenza and decided to do that because of my Mozart cadenza. That would be even more thrilling. I believe that anyone could do that if they just try.” —Rory Williams
Mark O’Connor Named Fiddle Hall of Famer
Violinist and composer Mark O’Connor has been inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for his “extraordinary career as a performer, collaborator, and composer of many genres of music that feature the fiddle and tantalize audiences with [his] boundless creativity.”
Says O’Connor, “It was a privilege to be inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame in Tulsa, an area that really knows about American fiddling. It was also wonderful to get inducted along with my fiddle hero
Vassar Clements, posthumously. He was a great influence on me and so many others, and really one of the supernatural players of all time. I had just lost my father shortly after the induction ceremony, and I [had] dedicated the award to him. I reminded folks how the feeling of community at these fiddle contests was something palpable back then. It brought people together, it brought great players together who otherwise would not have associated. Both of my parents appreciated that environment. I think in many ways, those days were the highlights of their life.” —R.W.
Alina Ibragimova: Super Brit
The 2009 Classical BRIT Awards named Russian-born violinist Alina Ibragimova the Young Performer of the Year. Ibragimova bested a British soprano and a nonprofit all-boy vocal group for the win. The 23-year-old Ibragimova made her solo debut just four years ago with the Kremerata Baltica during the Salzburg Mozartwoche and was later hailed for stepping in for Maxim Vengerov at the 2007 BBC Proms. She was the recipient of a 2008 Borletti-Buitoni Trust award. As part of the Kronberg Academy Masters program, Ibragimova studies with Christian Tetzlaff. “It feels great to have received this award and recognition for all the work with Hyperion Records,” Ibragimova says. “We have had some exciting projects together in the last couple of years, exploring music by composers such as [Karl Amadeus] Hartmann, Nikolai Roslavets, and, more recently, the [Karol] Szymanowski recital disc with Cédric Tiberghien. The next release will be the Bach sonatas and partitas for solo violin, and I’m very grateful to Hyperion for making this possible.” —R.W.
Nonesuch Signs String Band
Nonesuch Records has signed old-time string band the Carolina Chocolate Drops. An album is in the works for early 2010, and features originals as well as fiddler Joe Thompson’s “Cindy Gal” and a cover of Tom Waits’ “Trampled Rose.” The Drops—multi-instrumentalists Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson, and Dom Flemons—fuse the Piedmont fiddle-and-banjo musical tradition of North Carolina with jazz and rock elements. The trio has been mentored by Thompson, a master of African-American string-band music and recipient of a National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts. “[Nonesuch was] really open and willing to work with us since we came from the unique position that our group was growing and [the record label] is interested in where we can go with it,” Flemons says.
The group plans to resume touring during the fall
after Giddens spends time with her newborn or “newest Droplet,” Aoife Armentha Laffan, over the summer. —R.W.
Midori Debuts in Central America
Midori Goto, the violin virtuoso head of the string department at USC Thornton, slipped on her globetrotting shoes and at press time was headed to Costa Rica to make her Central American debut. She was to join the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica in San José for a performance of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in June. She was also to join the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Costa Rica for the first movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and to provide master classes as part of SiNEM (Costa Rica’s National System of Music Education) based on the famous El Sistema program of Venezuela.
“I very much admire the work of SiNEM and Costa
Rica’s president, Dr. Óscar Arias Sánchez, who clearly shares my conviction that music education can be a transformative experience in the lives of children,” Midori says.
In December, Midori and musicians selected through her Music Sharing for the International Community
Engagement Program will perform in Mongolia at schools, hospitals, and other venues in rural areas with limited access to live music. The group will then tour
Japan in June 2010 to share that experience with the public. —R.W. |
