Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Comment On San Jose Mercury News Article on Rachel Barton Pine, Violinist & Concertmaster

This comment was submitted to the San Jose Mercury News website today by William J. Zick:
Richard Scheinin made me feel as if I were experiencing this top-flight performance! He noted the significance of the selection of infrequently performed works of George Walker, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson and Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges by Rachel Barton Pine, violinist and guest concertmaster. Rachel is violin soloist on a landmark CD "Violin Concertos By Black Composers of the 18th and 19th Centuries"; Encore Chamber Orchestra; Daniel Hege, Conductor; Cedille Records 90000 035 (1997). The music of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges had been recorded on LP in the CBS Black Composers Series, and Arion Records had released CDs of the works of Saint-Georges in France, but Rachel recorded the first U.S. CD with a work of this composer. I bought it as soon as it was available. It convinced me to launch a website on Saint-Georges, which has evolved into a site on African Heritage in Classical Music, AfriClassical.com Rachel's 1997 CD received an excellent review in The New York Times and remains in print. I feature it on my website's pages on Saint-Georges, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and José Silvestre White.

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