The Solo Violin from Bach to Now

Details

Analog By Choice full profile / Solo Violin / 1 musician

Full program notes

For violinists, J.S. Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo violin have set the standard for unaccompanied playing for generations. Bach's ability to make an instrument, that usually plays one note at a time, express two, three, or even four voices simultaneously is renowned both for the technical challenge presented to the player and the musical integrity the composer is able to maintain. Using the D minor Partita as the starting point, this program explores the music of Bach, his contemporaries, and those who came after. Louis Gabrielle de Guillemain lived in the same era as Bach but had a slightly lighter take on violin music in his Amusement pour violon seul. Jessie Montgomery is a living American composer who is writing six Rhapsodys for solo violin inspired by Bach's work. This concert features the first in this ongoing project. Peruvian-American composer, Gabriella Lena Frank likewise took inspiration from Bach but used her travels around Peru as the inspiration for her Mestiza Suite. The whole program concludes with the infamous Chaccone from the D minor Partita, known as one of the most difficult works for the violin ever written.