05: SUITE CONCERTANT

(Walter Mony, violin / Tomoko Long, piano) • The Suite Concertant is a transcription by the composer of his Violin Concerto, which was premiered by Gwyneth Rollin and the State of Jalisco Philharmonic under its conductor Jose Guadaloupe Flores in the beautiful Degollado Theater in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Suite Concertant was premiered in Youngstown, Ohio by Gwyneth Rollin with the composer at the piano. It is in three contrasting movements, each with its own solo violin cadenza. The first movement, Blues, incorporates original themes with two old American folk songs, Every Night When the Sun Goes Down and Careless Love. The second, Barcarolle, a Venetian boat song, employs original themes and an old Sicilian lullaby with counterpoints and harmonization by Rollin. It has the unusual feature of ending with a solo violin cadenza fading into silence. The third movement, Rhapsody, beginning with original themes, leads into paraphrases of two Russian/Jewish folk songs (Margaritkes and Die Mezinke Oysgegeben), one very sad and wistful about a young maiden deserted by her lover, and the other, a rousing dance by a proud father as he gives away his daughter in marriage and celebrates with abandon in a large catered party. There follows a cyclical return to original opening material of the first movement interspersed with fragments of the two folk songs. A virtuoso solo violin cadenza ensues, followed by an exciting closing tutti suddenly cut off by six powerful syncopated chords for full orchestra.

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