Violinist Rachel Barton Pine's New Album, "Dependent Arising"

Released on Cedille Records, the album explores connections between classical music and heavy metal

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine released her 26th recording on Cedille Records titled, "Dependent Arising." The album brings together classical and heavy metal music by pairing Shostakovich's Violin Concerto Op. 77 No. 1 in A minor with Earl Maneein's Dependent Arising Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of Tito Muñoz.

Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 presents diverse movements that inspired Pine to connect the classical repertoire with Maneein's Dependent Arising Concerto for Violin and Orchestra — which was inspired by Western European classical music traditions, "Extreme Metal," and the composer's practice as a Buddhist.

Pine discovered her love for heavy metal as a teenager and performed at rock radio stations with covers of songs by Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Metallica, and works by Paganini and Ysaÿe.

With a shared passion for heavy metal, Pine first worked with violinist and composer Earl Maneein back in 2014, both being inspired by the fusion of Western classical music, heavy metal, and hardcore punk. Earl Maneein has been praised by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo as “a kick-ass artist who pushes the creative boundaries”

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

Earl Maneein introduces "Depending Arising" below:

As a performer, Pine has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, and the Chicago, Vienna, and Detroit Symphony Orchestras. She has worked with renowned conductors including Teddy Abrams, Marin Alsop, Daniel Barenboim, Semyon Bychkov, Neeme Järvi, Christoph Eschenbach, Erich Leinsdorf, Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, Tito Muñoz, and John Nelson, and performed chamber music with Jonathan Gilad, Clive Greensmith, Paul Neubauer, Jory Vinikour, William Warfield, Orion Weiss, and the Pacifica and Parker Quartets.

An active philanthropist, Pine has led the Rachel Barton Pine (RBP) Foundation for over two decades. Early in her career, she noticed that young people learning classical music seldom have the opportunity to study and perform music written by Black composers.

Since 2001, Pine and her RBP Foundation’s Music by Black Composers (MBC) project have collected more than 900 works by 450+ Black composers from the 18th–21st centuries. MBC curates free repertoire directories on its website and publishes print resources, including pedagogical books of music exclusively by global Black classical composers and the Rachel Barton Pine Foundation Coloring Book of Black Composers.

Additionally, the RBP Foundation assists young artists through its Instrument Loan Program and Grants for Education and Career. Pine also serves on the board of the Sphinx Organization and other not-for-profits.