Violinist Rachel Barton Pine to Perform Seated

The American soloist made the announcement after her medical team advised that she will be non-ambulatory for at least the next few years

(Photo credit: Andrew Eccles)

Rachel Barton Pine sustained injuries to her lower limbs at age 20 after an accident with a Chicago suburban commuter train in 1994, but her playing was not affected.

Having undergone over 50 surgeries, Pine performed standing up for all of her solo appearances before December 2018. She was able to do this with a regimen of physical therapy but was later unexpectedly hospitalized with a joint infection while on tour in France.   

“These are medical setbacks,” she said. “My ability to fulfill my life’s purpose as an artist remains unaffected. I’m sharing this information so the focus will stay on my music-making,” she continued.

Pine’s touring schedule this year began in July with the Ravinia Festival, stepping in for Midori on a few hour's notice to perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop.

Pine performing seated with CSO and Alsop (Photo credit: Patrick Gipson/Ravinia)

This season will see her performing with Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour on a recital tour. 

Pine made her orchestral debut at age 10 with the Chicago Symphony and since then received prizes from the Bach, Szigeti, Kreisler, Montreal, Paganini, and Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competitions.

Her orchestral appearances have included Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, and Camerata Salzburg. Having made 40 commercial recordings, Pine was featured on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s Tiny Desk, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. 

During COVID lockdowns between January and June 2021, she presented “24 in 24: Concertos from the Inside,” a weekly series where she would discuss a cornerstone violin concerto and perform its entire solo part, live and unaccompanied. Previously, she completed a similar project with Bach’s solo partitas and sonatas.

She plays on the 1742 “ex-Bazzini, ex-Soldat” Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu violin made in Cremona — on a lifetime loan from her patron.