Mahler Chamber Orchestra Performance to Be Dedicated to Alex Pines

“…chemistry brought together the rigor of mathematics, the beauty of music, the prospect of scientific progress.”

By Krista Thomas, Cal Performances’ Interim Director of Communications

Cal Performances has announced that the Mahler Chamber Orchestra’s performance with Mitusko Uchida (pianist and director) on March 23, 2025, will be dedicated to an internationally regarded figure in the scientific community and a lover of classical music, Alex Pines. At the time of his passing in late 2024, Pines had already served on the Cal Performances Board of Trustees on two separate occasions for a combined six years, and had maintained his commitment to the organization as a Sustaining Trustee since 2019.

Though he is remembered by most as a revolutionary mind in the field of chemistry, Pines exemplified a dedication to both the arts and sciences from an early age. Born in Tel Aviv in 1945 and raised in what is now Zimbabwe, Pines grew up in a vibrant and intellectually stimulating household alongside his three brothers and his mother and father, who met during WWII in Egypt where they both served with the British Army. Pines’ childhood was marked by particular affection for chess, science, and music, all of which was cultivated by his parents.

In an interview with Pines Lab in 2009, Pines shared, “My father had pursued law and mathematics but was excluded from further study by anti-Semitic restrictions. …He was a brilliant mathematician and chess player—for many decades he was the national champion of the Federation of Rhodesia [later Zimbabwe] and Nyasaland [later Malawi].” Pines was a quick study at chess as well, and was the under-21 champion of his local chess club growing up. Pines’ musical inclinations, on the other hand, grew from his mother, who performed locally as both a vocalist and pianist. Pines himself displayed a voracious appetite for classical music, excelling at the piano from the early years of his childhood and giving public performances by the age of 13.

Rounding out his passions, Pines’ connection to science was incredibly personal. At age 11, Pines contracted polio during the epidemic that swept the globe during the 1950s. “I was disabled for quite a while and spent many months in a convent isolation ward,” he shared with Pines Lab. And while this was a dark time in Pines’ life, he was ultimately able to recover thanks to the innovations produced by medical research scientists. Later on as he was plotting his career path, his exposure to Linus Pauling’s book The Nature of the Chemical Bond served as “the catalyst that allowed me to see how chemistry brought together the rigor of mathematics, the beauty of music, the prospect of scientific progress.”

Pines’ path to pursue chemistry took him from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied mathematics and chemistry, to MIT, where he earned his chemistry PhD. By the time he arrived on the UC Berkeley campus in 1972—having been hired as a professor the same year he completed his doctorate—he had already been published as an author on a “landmark paper” on the topic of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), according to Berkeley Lab. As defined by the Pines Magnetic Resonance Center, NMR refers to “a technique that uses magnetic fields and electromagnetic frequencies to study the chemical structure and dynamics of solids, liquids, and gases. …NMR is a non-invasive technology that has an extraordinary range of applications—in physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and biomedicine, with direct implications for its perhaps more widely known related technology, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).”

For the next nearly-five decades, Pines continued his NMR research at UC Berkeley with the Materials Science Division (MSD) and the Chemistry department, propelling the field of resonance imaging forward. In interview with Berkeley Lab last year, MSD Director Peter Fischer shared, “For over 45 years, he led an enormously impactful… program on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in MSD. This program produced close to 500 publications, including numerous papers in the highest-impact journals, as well as close to 30 patents and five R&D100 awards. He was also a dedicated mentor, which is reflected by his many students and postdocs who moved on to become world-recognized scholars in their fields.”

As Fischer referenced, Pines not only transformed the field of chemistry with his own groundbreaking research, but also through his cultivation of young scientists, who have affectionately referred to themselves as “Pinenuts.” A passionate educator, Pines worked with a wide range of students, from those with specialized expertise all the way to introductory chemistry students (Pines was a longtime lecturer for Chemistry 1A, an introductory chemistry course often taken by first-year undergraduates). Throughout his career, Pines was honored with a deluge of awards for both research and teaching, including the Michael Faraday Medal, The Royal Society (U.K.); Dickson Prize, Carnegie Mellon University; ACS Irving Langmuir Award; F. A. Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research; Russell Varian Prize, European Magnetic Resonance Society; Wolf Prize in Chemistry; and the Distinguished Teaching Award, University of California. In November 2023, UC Berkeley opened the Pines Magnetic Resonance Center, which continues to build on his legacy.

While Pines stayed busy with his official appointments and research, he never lost his appreciation for or direct connection to his other childhood passions of music and chess. During his time as UC Berkeley professor, Pines became a frequent Cal Performances attendee with his wife Ditsa. Cal Performances Executive and Artistic Director Jeremy Geffen shared, “Alex and Ditsa were voracious consumers of the arts and understood them—particularly orchestral music, great instrumental and vocal soloists, opera, ballet, and chamber music—on a level I have rarely encountered.” In 2001, Pines became even more closely intertwined with the organization when he volunteered to serve on the Cal Performances Board of Trustees, giving generously of his time and resources behind the scenes to ensure long-term success and steady direction for the organization. This included, among many avenues of support, Alex and Ditsa personally opening up their home to host events for Cal Performances and performing artists, just as they hosted for the College of Chemistry, Pinenuts groups, and visiting scholars.

Pines served on the Cal Performances board from 2001–2004, and then again from 2016–2019, before becoming a Sustaining Trustee. As a highly engaged board member and audience member, Pines was known to and beloved by many in the Cal Performances community. According to Geffen, “He was among Cal Performances’ most enthusiastic supporters and was in the audience for our greatest triumphs. …I will remember Alex most for his boundless humor, insights, generosity, and warmth, and especially for his booming voice that would both amaze us with his insights and leave the room in stitches.”

Pines’ passing last November was recognized internationally, but felt particularly acutely on the UC Berkeley campus where he had been a generous and prolific contributor in so many spaces, with Cal Performances being no exception. In recognition of his lasting legacy, Cal Performances has selected Mitsuko Uchida’s performance with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as a special moment of recognition—in part because it is a tentpole performance on the current season, and in part because of Pines’ affinity for great pianists. Cal Performances is grateful for all that Pines contributed to making the live performing arts possible in our halls over the course of decades, and is looking forward to this opportunity to celebrate his continued impact.