Sonya Monosoff (born June 11, 1927) is a violinist, a pioneer of the

Baroque violin A Baroque violin is a violin set up in the manner of the baroque period of music. The term includes original instruments which have survived unmodified since the Baroque period, as well as later instruments adjusted to the baroque setup, and moder ...

and one of the first American performers to use the Baroque violin in performance.

Biography

Born in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, Sonya Monosoff studied the violin with

Louis Persinger Louis Persinger (11 February 1887, Rochester, Illinois31 December 1966, New York, New York) was an American violinist, pianist and professor of violin. Persinger had early lessons in Colorado, appearing in public by the age of 12. His main studie ...

. She also studied

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

with

Felix Salmond Felix Adrian Norman Salmond (19 November 188820 February 1952) was an English cellist and cello teacher who achieved success in the UK and the US. Early life and career Salmond was born to a family of professional musicians. His father Norman S ...

and . A graduate of the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

, she joined the Quartet Galimir, refounded by

Felix Galimir Felix Galimir (May 20, 1910, Vienna – November 10, 1999, New York) was an Austrian-born American violinist and music teacher. Born in a Sephardic Jewish family Vienna; his first language was Ladino. Allan Kozinn,"Felix Galimir, 89, a Violin ...

during his exile in America. In 1963 she founded and directed her own ensemble, first called the Baroque Players of New York (later the Chamber Players), performing a range of works from

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

to Bülent Arel. In its infancy, Monosoff joined the ensemble

New York Pro Musica New York Pro Musica was a vocal and instrumental ensemble based in New York City, which specialized in Medieval and Renaissance music. It was co-founded in 1952, under the name Pro Musica Antiqua, by Noah Greenberg, a choral director, and Bernard ...

under

Noah Greenberg Noah Greenberg (April 9, 1919 – January 9, 1966) was an American choral conductor. Greenberg was born in the Bronx. In 1937, aged 18, he joined the Socialist Workers Party of Max Shachtman, and worked as a lathe operator and party activist. He ...

. She was the first modern performer to record the

Rosary Sonatas The ''Rosary Sonatas'' (''Rosenkranzsonaten'', also known as the ''Mystery Sonatas'' or ''Copper-Engraving Sonatas'') by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber are a collection of 15 short sonatas for violin and continuo, with a final passacaglia for solo ...

and the 8

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s of 1681 by

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber correctly ''Biber von Bibern'' ( bapt. 12 August 1644, Stráž pod Ralskem – 3 May 1704, Salzburg) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Biber worked in Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left ...

. Her recording of the

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

sonatas with

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

ist James Weaver won best recording of the year (1963) from the ''

Stereo Review ''Sound & Vision'' was an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review' ...

'' magazine. From 1972 to 1997 she taught at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. In 1974 she formed the Trio Amade (1974–1997) with

fortepianist A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

Malcolm Bilson Malcolm Bilson (born October 24, 1935) is an American pianist and musicologist specializing in 18th- and 19th-century music. He is the Frederick J. Whiton Professor of Music in Cornell University, Ithaca, New York Bilson is one of the foremost pl ...

and cellist John Hsu. Monosoff has given recitals of chamber music in the US, Canada, Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. After 1991 she taught violin and chamber music and gave concerts outside the United States, including the Czech Republic and where she was at the

Prague Spring International Music Festival The Prague Spring International Music Festival (, commonly , Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles from around the world. The first festival ...

in 1993. She taught and gave

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

es in many American and Canadian universities, and was invited to the

Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

in Tel Aviv and

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

Partial discography

Monosoff's discography is currently lacking in CD format reissues, though LP and tape cassette formats are available at many university libraries. In the vein of Baroque performance, she recorded Biber,

Arcangelo Corelli Arcangelo Corelli (, also , ; ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an List of Italian composers, Italian composer and violinist of the middle Baroque music, Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of Sonata a ...

Francesco Geminiani Francesco Xaverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687 – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, deem ...

and J. S. Bach. With piano accompaniment, she made recordings of the violin sonatas of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. Cornell University also keeps archival recordings of Monosoff's many performances at

Barnes Hall Barnes Hall is a student-services building located in the center of the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. It was built in 1887 in a Romanesque style and has 21,618 sq ft. History John R. Mott, Cornell Class of 1888, was concerned ab ...

. For example, her performance on October 7, 1962, of J. S. Bach's trio sonatas, BWV 1038 and from BWV 1079, and her October 29, 1974, performance of Charles Ives' ''Dialogues'' for violin and piano (1958) are both available in Cornell's archives. * 1962: Biber ''Rosary Sonatas'' –

János Scholz János Scholz (December 20, 1903 – June 3, 1993) was a Hungarian-born American cellist and art collector. Early life Scholz was born in 1903 in Sopron, Hungary. He graduated from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. Career Scholz ...

, viola da gamba; John Miller, baroque bassoon; Melville Smith, organ and harpsichord (3 LP Records Cambridge CRS 18113 / LP Pleiades Records 2P107) Performed on instruments from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington). * 1962: Mozart ''Violin Sonatas K 379 and K 454'' – Lonny Epstein, fortepiano (Cambridge LP Records) * 1964: Biber, ''8 Sonatas for solo violin and continuo'' (1681) – János Scholz, viola da gamba; Melville Smith, harpsichord (LP Cambridge SRC Records, 1812) * 1967: Vivaldi, ''The Four Seasons'' – Sonya Monosoff, Helen Kwalwasser, Nadia Koutzen, solo violins; Eugenia Earle, harpsichord; ''New York Sinfonietta'' Dir. Max Goberman (LP Odyssey 32 16 0131) * 1972: Stephen Foster, ''Melodies'' or ''Jeannie with the light brown hair'' and ''Some folks''– Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano; Leslie Guinn, baritone; Gilbert Kalish, piano and melodeon; Robert Sheldon, flute & keyed bugle; Douglas Koeppe, & piccolo flute; James Weaver, piano; ''The Camerata Chorus of Washington'' (LP LP Nonesuch H-71268 / Electra / Nonesuch 9 7915802) . Played on instruments from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington). * 1973: Corelli, ''12 Sonatas, Op. 5'' – Judith Davidoff, viola da gamba and cello; James Weaver, harpsichord and organ (3LP Musical Heritage Society MHS 1690/1/2) * 1976: Haydn, ''Trios, Hob. xv: 19, 27 and 29'' – The Trio Amade: Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano; John Hsu, cello (LP Titanic Records Ti-12) * 1970: Leclair ''Sonatas for two violins'' – Sonya Monosoff & Carol Lieberman, baroque violins (LP Titanic Records Ti-45) * 1977: Mozart ''Violin Sonata K 304, 376, 380'' – Malcolm Bilson, fortepiano (ed Southern Illinois University Press – LP Pleiades Records P 104.) . Performed on a 1692 Stradivarius from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). * 1978: Geminiani, ''Sonatas II and X, opus 1; Sonatas I and XI, opus 4'' – James Weaver, harpsichord; Judith Davidoff, baroque cello (LP Musical Heritage Society) * 1978: Bach ''Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord'' BWV 1014–1019, 1021, 1023 – James Weaver, harpsichord; Judith Davidoff, viola da gamba (4–12 April 1978 CRS Records 3LP Cambridge 2822B / LP Columbia Special Products P3-14830) . Played on instruments from the collection of the Smithsonian Institution (Washington).

Publications

Articles

* * * * * Articles "Arco (i)", "Pizzicato", "Position", "Shift", "Fingering" in

Grove Music Online ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and t ...

Collaboration

References

External links

Sonya Monosoff, Emeritus Professor

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monosoff, Sonya 1927 births Living people Musicians from Cleveland Juilliard School alumni American women classical violinists 21st-century American classical violinists 21st-century American women musicians