  Hailed as “the most charismatic, the most virtuosic, and the most compelling American violinist of her generation,” her instrument is one of the most important in the world, the “ex-Soldat” violin made in 1742 by Guarneri del Gesu. A child prodigy, Rachel’s classical music leads to cities around the globe and has worked with numerous famous conductors - Zubin Mehta, Erich Leinsdorf, Placido Domingo and Charles Dutoit to name a few. Yet like any young woman who came of age in the Nineties, violinist Rachel Barton Pine is equally inclined to talk about the musical loves of her life and they aren’t limited to sonatas and concertos she practices and which constitute her current professional life. She can reel off a list of her favorite rock bands -- AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Metallica, Pantera, Van Halen, Slayer and Megadeth -- as readily as she can talk about these 19th-century composers. Rachel's ability to see the connecting threads in these very disparate musical forms makes her the perfect bridge between generations of music fans. She has broken through every possible stereotype people may have of a modern classical musician. Folks in her native Chicago have enjoyed her performances of the National Anthem at Bulls and Cubs games. She was one of the torchbearers in the 1996 Olympic torch relay and appeared in the opening ceremonies of the Paralympic Games in Atlanta - the same month she played at the Democratic Convention in Chicago. She opened at the House of Blues for Slash (from Guns N' Roses) and Sammy Hagar, performed with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page (from Led Zeppelin), and numerous photos on her MySpace page show her hanging backstage with many of her favorite rock heroes. Those who have never visited a concert hall can see and hear her playing and talking about music on her weekly podcast and YouTube video channel. |
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