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Stories   >   Rachel Barton Pine and Earl Maneein chat about 'Dependent Arising' with WFSU Public Media

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Rachel Barton Pine and Earl Maneein chat about 'Dependent Arising' with WFSU Public Media

Posted: September 29, 2023
Interview with WFSU Public Media

The Cedille Records release of Dependent Arising, by Rachel Barton Pine is the violinist's 24th recording with the label. The album, inspired by the surprising consequences between classical and heavy metal music, pairs Dmitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77 with Earl Maneein's “Dependent Arising” — Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, a heavy metal-influenced classical concerto written expressly for Pine, performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) conducted by Tito Muñoz. Dependent Arising will be released on Friday, August 11.

While Rachel Barton Pine is widely known for her virtuosic and expressive performances of works from the Western classical music canon, she is also a heavy metal enthusiast and performer of the genre. Pine discovered her love for heavy metal as a teenager, and later performed at rock radio stations where she would intersperse her own arrangements of her favorite metal songs by Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and Metallica with works by Paganini and Ysaÿe in order to introduce new listeners to classical music. From 2009–2014 she was a member of the acclaimed doom/thrash metal band Earthen Grave, playing 6-string electric violin. With Dependent Arising, Pine explores connections between modern classical music and heavy metal and showcases her own unique journey within these two seemingly disparate genres.

The album explores themes of struggle, oppression, and defiance, which define Shostakovich’s oeuvre and resonate deeply with the essence of heavy metal music. Now a staple of the classical concerto repertory, Shostakovich's emotionally charged Violin Concerto No. 1 holds a special place among metal enthusiasts, with its diverse movements ranging from the haunting Nocturne to the relentless Burlesque. In her personal note for the album booklet, Pine writes:

“There is perhaps no classical composer who is more beloved to metalheads than Shostakovich… What is it about Shostakovich’s music that causes this visceral response? Some music is designed to entertain us, to uplift us, to comfort us. Other music challenges us and makes us think by making us feel uncomfortable. Shostakovich’s complex music is defiant in the face of oppression. Perhaps that is the basis for its incredible appeal to heavy metal fans.”

Earl Maneein is an acclaimed violinist and composer known for his unique and innovative fusion of western classical music, heavy metal, and hardcore punk. “Dependent Arising” was originally commissioned by Tito Muñoz for Pine after he heard her play one of Maneein’s metal-inspired solo violin pieces, which she had commissioned. The work pushes the boundaries of traditional concerto composition and draws inspiration from the world of “Extreme Metal,” the Western European classical music tradition, and the composer’s practice as a Buddhist. The concerto elevates the rhythmic patterns and aggression of various heavy music subgenres to an expanded realm of storytelling. In his program notes for the album booklet, Maneein asks:

“How do you express pain and violence musically? How do you create catharsis for these negative states? The possible ways to express these feelings in music, as in any language, are limited and therefore are bound to have independently evolved similarities… These commonalities make it clear to me why Rachel chose to pair her excellent performance of the Shostakovich First Violin Concerto with my piece. I use the language of extreme music to fuel my work. I draw on my Buddhist practice of dealing with pain, violence, suffering, and death as inspiration. Both of these violin concertos share expressions of terror, hatred, fear, horror, and sorrow as their primary mover.”

Dependent Arising was produced by the Grammy-winning team of James Ginsburg and engineer Bill Maylone, with session engineering by the RSNO’s Hedd Morfett-Jones. It was recorded January 7–8, 2022 at Scotland’s Studio, Glasgow. The recording was made possible in part by generous support from the Sage Foundation.

Rachel and Earl discuss 'Dependent Arising' with Tallahassee FL. WFSU Public Media. Listen to the conversation