Violin for Valentine's Day

Though I may not have had a boyfriend to take me out for a romantic dinner and buy me roses and chocolate, this Valentine's Day was my favorite to date and more than exceptionally sweet.

I had the pleasure of seeing Gil Morgenstern perform, right here at the Palazzo Capponi in our very own Rose Suite.

Mr. Morgenstern is a violinist with one of the most impressive resume's I have ever seen. He has performed since he was five and has traveled all over the world to destinations including New York, London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Berlin and Hong Kong and has performed with symphonies and orchestras in St. Louis, Baltimore, Louisville, Indianapolis, Denver, Milwaukee, New Jersey and North Carolina. He has been featured on TV and NPR broadcasts, worked with Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky and Pulitzer Prize poet Yusef Komunyakaa. He has been the director of various creative organizations and performance series and has performed at the White House. That's just a few of his accomplishments.

Being a violinist since I was seven made the whole experience somewhat surreal. As Mr. Morgenstern played the first few notes of Bach's Partita in E Major I could feel the tears well up and my heart rate increase as I recognized it as one of the pieces I performed years before. His sound was flawless and rich, doing justice to the piece that I was never capable of. He brought the classical sound to new life.

However, after the Bach piece, there was a radical change in style. The next selection was by Vytautas Barkauskas and was unlike any violin solo I have ever heard, let alone tried to play. The complex range of dynamics, styles and techniques was incredible and the modern feel was engaging. Though the audience was made up of a good majority of students, which was refreshing, each pair of eyes and doubtlessly ears, were completely glued to the flying fingers and lively bow.

Mr. Morgenstern continued the night with Riconscenze per Goffredo Petrassi by Elliott Carter and Dante Suite for Solo Violin by Bruce Saylor, which never failed to keep the audience attentive and readings from Dante's Inferno were sprinkled throughout the routine, both by JMU students and Professor Luca Baldoni.



For more on my own reactions and about Mr. Morgenstern and the pieces, check back tomorrow...