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With fiery, passionate playing, Rachel Barton Pine delivers an unforgettable night of music with FM Symphony / INFORUM

Guest violinist wowed the big crowd with three numbers, receiving multiple standing ovations.

INFORUM's John Lamb writes….In its first concert of the season, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra set the bar outrageously high for the remaining four Masterworks shows. Guest violinist Rachel Barton Pine was thoroughly dazzling in three wildly different pieces, showcasing her amazing skills and feel for music. This may have been the most dynamic performance with the FMSO since Midori was featured guest in 2010.

How good was Barton Pine? So good she had to hold her hand up to quell a standing ovation because the song wasn’t even half over.

Not that her performance of the first two movements of Pablo de Sarasate’s “Carmen Fantasy” weren’t worthy of rapturous applause. Barton Pine plays with amazing technique and a focused passion, so the themes from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen” were right in her wheelhouse, to say the least.

Word of her talents preceded her and there were so many buying tickets at the door, the concert started more than 15 minutes late to assure people in line could get in. The result was an enthusiastic house and one of the biggest recent FMSO audiences.

It was fun to watch members of the audience start to bob their heads during the second movement of “Carmen Fantasy,” as they recognized the iconic “Habanera” melody. It was even more fun watching the faces of FMSO members as Barton Pine played. Concertmaster Sonja Bosca Harasim and associate concertmaster Jennifer Tackling were often seen smiling as they watched the guest play. When Barton Pine was finished and exiting the stage, they and the other musicians were stomping their feet in appreciation.

Barton Pine is a huge fan of heavy metal as anyone who saw her violin case -- festooned with patches for acts like Metallica, Testament, Pantera, Black Sabbath and more -- can attest. Her playing showed similarities between metal and classical as the tempo on the second movement increased, so did her speedy fingerwork on the frets. In guitar parlance, Barton Pine is a shredder.

“Carmen Fantasy” may have been a fan favorite for much of the audience coming into the night, but unless they were at Music Director Christopher Zimmerman’s tryout concert in 2012, they probably had not heard Barton Pine’s other featured piece, “Concerto of the Flowers” by contemporary Czech Composer, Sylvia Bodorova. Those that heard it Saturday night won’t soon forget it.

As calming and reflective as “Carmen Fantasy” is fiery, the violinist proved she’s not all flash. Barton Pine showed a deeply emotional aspect to her playing in the one-movement concerto and after a frenzied cadenza, someone in the crowd let loose a loud, “Whooo!” that even cracked a smile on the star violinist.

Christopher Zimmerman directs the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra at Festival Concert Hall on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023.David Samson/The Forum
Two numbers from a guest soloist is one more than usual but she wasn’t done playing. After her scheduled set was finished, she performed a wickedly delightful “Asturias” by Isaac Albéniz, a real treat of an encore. Composed for piano, but imitating guitar playing, Barton Pine performed her own arrangement of the tune and continued her masterclass in fingering, plucking, bowing and other techniques. Having stepped away from his conductor’s podium, Zimmerman made his way to the back of the orchestra and watched on in delight.

If that was the dessert for the Barton Pine part of the show, Sergei Rachmaninov’s “Symphonic Dances” was like a second dinner on Thanksgiving. The Russian composer called for a big sound in what was his final major piece and achieved it with some often underutilized instruments. 

PHOTO: David Samson
 

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