In Sunday’s (4/16) Arizona Republic (Phoenix), Larry Lengel writes about composer Earl Maneein’s new violin concerto, “Dependent Arising,” to be performed this weekend by the Phoenix Symphony and soloist Rachel Barton Pine. “ ‘I like to call it extreme music,’ Maneein says. ‘Because there’s black metal, death metal, stoner metal, sludge metal, thrash metal, metalcore, mathcore’ … As a teenager, [Maneein] discovered metal…. He continued studying classical but also began playing electric violin and went on to form his own metal band … Pine is a prodigy who made her debut with the Chicago Symphony at age 10—right about the time she discovered rock music…. Pine quickly became an international star as a classical soloist. But in 2009 she also … joined the ‘doom metal’ band Earthen Grave, playing six-string electric violin. [Phoenix Symphony Music Director Tito] Muñoz is not exactly a metalhead, but he learned to appreciate the genre after becoming friends with Maneein … two decades ago. In 2014, Muñoz became music director of the Phoenix Symphony, where he has introduced audiences to diverse music by contemporary American composers…. Is ‘Dependent Arising’ metal or classical? Maneein says it’s both, but Pine insists upon the latter.”
Posted April 19, 2017
