Virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine, ahead of Hong Kong debut, on being a hard-up kid with an obsession to master the strings
Concert marks the first appearance in the city for the star, who talks about her upcoming performance, an impoverished childhood and the horror of a train accident that severed one leg and mangled the other
It can take most people a decade or two to realise what they’re good at, but virtuoso violinist Rachel Barton Pine found her calling a little earlier.
“I first heard the violin when I was three – there were some schoolgirls playing in a church, and I was absolutely intrigued by the sound of the instrument,” says Pine, by telephone from Chicago, where she’s based. “I begged my parents for lessons, and luckily there was a violin teacher in the neighbourhood. I started playing just for fun, but then I absolutely fell in love with it. I became obsessed by it, in fact.”
By the time she was five, the youngster knew that playing the violin was “what I was meant to do with my life”.
Pine’s talent at the instrument matched her love for it and the now 42-year-old has risen to become one of the world’s most renowned violinists. She will be making her Hong Kong debut on June 2, playing with the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong and guest conductor Andrew Sewell.
The concert will include pieces by J.S. Bach, Vivaldi and contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. Vivaldi’s Concerto for Viola d’Amore in D Major will allow Pine to demonstrate her skills on the viola d’amore, a baroque-era instrument that can feature six or seven strings, plus “sympathetic” strings that resonate under the neck and bridge.