Rachel Barton Pine
In the former Soviet Union, there were only two types of music — positive, uplifting, and often thunderous melodies that dictator Joseph Stalin believed helped further the goals of the State; and formalist styles with modernist elements that Stalin felt were too bourgeois, which usually got the composer into trouble. On Oct. 18, the Madison Symphony Orchestra offered audience members a little of each, along with a performance by an exciting soloist making her MSO debut.
Aram Khachaturian’s “Violin Concerto in D minor,” featuring solo violinist Rachel Barton Pine, formed the evening’s focal point. The composition was flanked by Sergei Prokofiev’s “Suite from Lieutenant Kijé,” one of several films the composer had scored, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 in E-flat Major, Op. 70. Stalin’s personal playlist likely included the Khachaturian; the other two, not so much.
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine demonstrated brilliant virtuosic technique while playing Khachaturian’s 1940 composition. At 33 minutes, it was the evening’s longest work. Her fiery approach drove through the Armenian composer’s interweave of folk melodies and classical structures, trading leads with other orchestra members and blending seamlessly in various duets with other performers.
The Chicago violinist’s tragic backstory is well known in classical circles. In 1995, at age 20, Pine was exiting a commuter train in the city’s Winnetka suburb when the door closed on the strap of her violin case, pinning her to the train. She was dragged some 400 feet, eventually falling under the train and having her left leg severed and right leg mangled. After two years of recovery, the artist resumed what has become a stellar career.
The Khachaturian composition was bold and strong, balancing a somewhat martial air with tender emotion and triumphant cadenzas. In response to the audience’s standing ovation, Pine offered a delightful encore of Niccoló Paganini’s Caprice No. 13, nicknamed “The Devil’s Laughter,” as a seasonal treat.
Madison Symphony Orchestra opened the evening with Prokofiev’s 1933 film score, a musically colorful, idiosyncratic composition with a variety of motifs. In five movements, the composition represents the life of a fictional Russian military officer: birth, marriage, heroic exploits, and even death. Despite the martial overtones, the melodies were often light and delicate, proving to be a delightful 20-minute opening to the evening.
Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9, the evening’s closer, was a similarly colorful collection of musical elements captured in five movements. From its sprightly opening notes, light with an almost irreverent timbre, to its close, the 27-minute symphony composed in 1945 is almost the antithesis of the Khachaturian work. The composer’s romantic inclinations showed through, and MSO captured its spirit in a flawless performance.
Back in the day, Stalin did not like this composition and had little regard for the composer, whom he officially censured on more than one occasion. All the more reason for the Madison audience to enjoy music the dictator detested.
Madison Symphony Orchestra performs with Rachel Barton Pine on Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 20 at 2:30 p.m. in Overture Hall.
[Editor's note: We corrected this story to reflect the fact that Rachel Barton Pine was injured in the train accident when she was 20, not 21.]
