Sonata for Solo Violin - Violin Unaccompanied

A violinist herself, Lauren Bernofsky has described Sonata for Solo Violin as drawn from autobiographical inspiration, including gestures from Bach’s beloved Partita in E Major. Bernofsky opens with a Preludio movement whose references to Bach may be disguised, but they are surely lurking. The second movement is lusciously contrapuntal with the idiomatic finesse of a violinist composing for her own instrument, while musically journaling the emotional pain of living through 2020. The third and final movement is aptly marked “white-hot,” and the music certainly is.