Blues, Brahms & beyond
Esteemed violinist
Diane Monroe showed no limits Saturday at CSI Recital Hall
Staten Island Advance - March 15, 2005
Last things first: The final sound at violinist
Diane Monroe’s recital this past weekend at the College of Staten
Island was a pure, fiddle strain - sweet, thin and evocative. It’s
the grace note of Victor Steinhardt’s “Sonata Boogie,” a 1986
showpiece.
The composition champions the versatility of Ms. Monroe and pianist
Michal Schmidt, two Philadelphia based musicians who know no
borders, no limits. But at the moment, that final phrase seemed like
the composer’s way of settling the argument for one style over
another, Bach or blues, Brahms or jazz. Steinhardt seems to be
saying, “Forget the argument and just remember this beautiful
sound.”
No matter the agenda, Ms. Monroe and Ms. Schmidt clearly had the
skill and enthusiasm for it. For years now, Ms. Monroe has moved
between jazz and classical repertoire. New music interests her as
well. She wrote a piece for accordionist/composer Guy Klucevsek’s
“Flying Vegetables of the Apocalypse” CD and she and Klucevsek, who
lives in St. George, were both affiliated with Relache, the
high-profile new music ensemble.
Saturday’s concert concluded a residency that took the violinist
into music-student enclaves at the college itself, and into
classrooms at Curtis High School. The high point of the residency,
Monroe told a small but appreciative audience at the Recital Hall,
was a jam session with the Curtis Jazz Ensemble.
She opened the recital her own solo, “Bach, Blues and Beyond,” a
dazzling workout overflowing with thoughtful evidence of the common
ground shared by Bach, blues, and 20th century minimalism.
The evening’s sharpest challenge may have been “Cavatina” by Fritz
Kreisler, one of the go-to composers for challenging writing for the
violin. Nothing about it seemed to faze Ms. Monroe. Her playing had
the warmth and breath of a voice.
By Michael J. Fressola
Reprinted here with permission from the
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