Violin soloist closes season on stunning note

GREGORY FULKERSON, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Monday.

The Chamber Music Society of Salt Lake City closed out its season Monday evening with a stellar performance by violinist Gregory Fulkerson, playing a stunning program of works for solo violin.

Undertaking a complete recital of works for violin alone is no easy accomplisment, yet Fulkerson managed to captivate the large audience in Libby Gardner Concert Hall with an eclectic array of works that underscored the instrument's rich and varied repertoire.

Two major works of opposite character were on the program — contemporary composer Donald Erb's Sonata for Solo Violin and J.S. Bach's luminous Partita No. 2 in D minor.

Erb wrote his sonata for Fulkerson in 1994. The four-movement work utilizes the violin's coloristic possibilities. Erb crafted an effective piece in which each movement is unique yet also unfied in the composer's desire to create a new soundscape. This manifests itself at times in unusual ways. In the second movement, "Scherzo," the violinist hums while playing, and at one point replaces his bow with a chopstick. In the third movement, "Ceremony," the violinist also plays an antique cymbal that blends with the violin's harmonics, creating an eerie and mysterious world. And typical for Erb's works, the music in the sonata moves from a loose toehold in tonality to extremely dissonant but always expressive passages.

The work is technically demanding. Fulkerson's performance, however, was dynamic and potent.

Bach's D minor Partita was the sole work on the second half of the recital. One of the most profound works ever written, the partita masterfully combines the musical language of the baroque with an immense range of human emotions. Fulkerson captured this with his perceptive and articulate playing. His interpretation brought out the delicacy of the musical lines, the subtle harmonic shifts and the infinite lyricism found in the work. It was an astonishing feat, and a performance that was worth the price of admission on its own.

The crowning moment in the five-movement partita is the closing Chaconne, and it was here that Fulkerson in particular exhibited his greatness as a violinist. He played the movement with passion and intensity, giving a forceful performance that was riveting for its impact.

There were also some shorter pieces on the program. Fulkerson opened his recital with three movements from Niccolo Paganini's Caprices, op. 1 (nos. 17, 13 and 24). He played these bravura pieces with technical ease and self assurance.

Eugene Ysaye's Ballade, op. 27, no. 3, rounded out the first half. Fulkerson's impassioned playing brought out the rich, sonorous character of the music perfectly.

As an encore, Fulkerson played the delightfully charming Gavotte from Bach's Partita in D major.

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