ROADMAPS & DIARIES II

ROADMAPS & DIARIES II

Featuring violin, electric violin, adapted violin, voice, electronics, installations, images, & sound design

Violin, electric violin, adapted violin, voice
Monica Germino

Sound design
Frank van der Weij

The show includes music by Annie Gosfield^, Louis Andriessen*, Julia Wolfe^, Ian Wilson^, Rob Zuidam^, Karlheinz Essl, Michael Gordon …and various wild cards


NEWSFLASH:

Monica Germino and Frank van der Weij chosen for Reviewers’ Choices for Best Musical Events of 2013

-SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

click for complete article

"In a program for violin and electronics at the Austrian Cultural Forum, Amsterdam-based Monica Germino showed the power of savvy programming, with Frank van der Weij using technology about as perfectly as it gets."
-Bruce Hodges


REPERTOIRE:

  • Annie Gosfield (USA): Long Waves and Random Pulses (2012)^ for violin and electronics - click for video
  • Louis Andriessen: XENIA Revisited (2005/2014)* for violin/voice - click for audio
  • Ian Wilson (IE): Six Twenty-five a.m. (2014)^ for singing violinist and live electronics
  • Rob Zuidam (NL): Dies Irae (2014)^ for electric violin and distortion
  • Karlheinz Essl (AT): Sequitur III (2008), for electric violin and live electronics
  • Michael Gordon (USA): INDUSTRY (1993) (version for adapted violin and electronics, 2008) - click for video
  • Julia Wolfe (USA): with a blue dress on (2010)^ (‘for multiple Monica’s’) for violin / voice solo and 8 recorded tracks - click for video excerpt

*written for Monica Germino
^written for Monica Germino and Frank van der Weij


The crisscrossing paths Frank and I have taken over the years have led us to many an unexpected destination. Each new piece catapulted us into a next round of discoveries. ROADMAPS & DIARIES II stretches to fit the new and cherishes the old. The show may have adjustments or substitutions: to include what has just come across our path, to bring back a treasured repertoire piece, or to suit a specific venue.

Certain elements remain constant:

  • A violinist and sound engineer presenting a revolutionary take on the solo violin recital. We transform sound, execute unconventional feats, and exploit new technologies. We'll let London's Daily Telegraph (UK) put in a word here: "…musicians and "players" of electronic gear simply coming together to make music...Monica Germino, a vividly personable player on the electric and 'normal' violin, works with a sound engineer to transform her violin at one moment into a colossally deep double bass, the next into a wailing electric guitar…a tour-de-force of slowly rising intensity."
  • Brief, pre-recorded audio or video introductions by composers link the pieces together.
  • We are happy to answer questions from the audience & often hold discussions immediately following the shows.

Monica and Frank also tour with the following pieces:

Arnoud Noordegraaf: Fugue (2010)^ for amplified acoustic violin, live samples and video - click for video
David Dramm: Fuzzbox Logic (2010)* for electric violin, five fuzzboxes & soundtrack - click for video
Donnacha Dennehy: Overstrung (2010)^ for amplified acoustic violin and soundtrack - click for video
Heiner Goebbels: Part 6, BAGATELLEN für Violine (1989-2007)* for amplified violin with distortion & samples  - click for video
Kate Moore: Dolorosa (2014)^ for violin and augmented voice
Jacob TV: SUITES OF LUX (short version 2007)* for electric violin & soundtrack - click for audio excerpts
Nick Williams: HELL (2006)* for singing violinist
Catherine Kontz: 4½ tatami (2010)^ for solo violin, Violectra, voice, effects, projection and installation
Nicholas Brown: THE BRAVERY OF WOMEN (2006)* for violin/voice & film
J.S. Bach: movements from the Six Sonatas & Partitas, & more


About the duo:

The American-Dutch violinist Monica Germino performs with Dutch sound designer Frank van der Weij in duo programs, revolutionizing the concept of a solo violin recital by transforming sound, executing unconventional feats, and exploiting new technologies. The duo received several research and performance grants in support of their work, and has premiered compositions for violin and sound design created especially for them by composers such as Donnacha Dennehy, David Dramm, Heiner Goebbels, Annie Gosfield, and Julia Wolfe. Germino and Van der Weij have conceived and produced critically acclaimed, revolutionary multimedia programs such as ‘plugged & unplugged’, with a sold-out UK premiere at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and tours to Canada, Europe, and the USA. HCMF and the Gaudeamus Foundation subsequently co-commissioned a sequel, the radically gripping ‘DEVIATION’, which has been performed in major festivals across Europe and the USA. A raucous and reflective ‘carte blanche’ show at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam was a catalyst for the show ‘ROADMAPS & DIARIES II’, premiering in 2014. AMERICAN WIZARDRY launched in 2015 and explores the wizardry of transformation, with American composers featured as the wizards.

Their shows are the result of a team effort: a celebration of a collaboration illustrating an ideal relationship between performer and technician. The New York Times lauded the duo: “...a gloriously free and wild fiddle tantrum…virtuosity and mischief-making...Van der Weij’s digital wizardry amplified, distorted, fragmented and multiplied the voice of the solo violin.” The Strad described a show as “a veritable master class on the use of violin and electronics, packed with sophistication and showmanship,” while The Daily Telegraph (UK) raved: “Monica Germino, a vividly personable player on the electric and ‘normal’ violin, works with a sound engineer to transform her violin at one moment into a colossally deep double bass, the next into a wailing electric guitar. …musicians and ‘players’ of electronic gear simply coming together to make music - the results were entrancing.” In 2013, SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL chose the duo for Reviewers’ Choices for Best Musical Events of 2013.


About Monica:
Collaborating with composers and artists from all over the world, the American-born, Amsterdam-based violinist Monica Germino is a pioneer in new techniques. Hailed by The Sunday Times (UK) as a ‘striking presence’ whose ‘virtuosity was exhilarating’, she has collaborated with such composers as Louis Andriessen, John Cage, Heiner Goebbels, Michael Gordon, György Ligeti and Julia Wolfe. Her defiance of (together with a healthy respect for) tradition has led her to seek out and encourage the adventurous, the daring and the new. Monica combines other elements with her acoustic and electric violins, starting with her own voice. Her performances featuring singing and playing have garnered critical acclaim: ‘...the dazzling violinist Monica Germino’ The Observer (UK); ‘it was when her voice kicked in on top that her astonishing range was revealed… an extraordinary musician who managed to pull off that double feat with grace and skill….’ Feast of Music (NY). Monica plays a Joannes Baptista Ceruti violin, on permanent loan from the Elise Mathilde Foundation, and a custom-made 'Violectra’. She is a co-founder of the international four-member ensemble ELECTRA.

About Frank:
In his state-of-the-art studio in Amsterdam, Dutch artist Frank van der Weij records, edits, and mixes music projects and engages in his own electronic compositions, as well as compiling and adapting existing music for dance and theater performances. Frank has worked with many theatre and dance groups, made numerous CD recordings and designed sound for international film and television productions. He works often with composer Michel van der Aa and is a co-founder of disquiet.tv, a unique and interactive virtual auditorium for contemporary music. Other projects include film editing and sound design with filmmaker Frank Scheffer, and working with pianist Tomoko Mukaiyama. As sound technician, sound designer, and sound manipulator, he has collaborated with composers Brett Dean, Martijn Padding, Louis Andriessen, Misha Mengelberg, Luca Francesconi, Hanspeter Kyburz, Klaas de Vries, Michael Galasso and Alex Balanescu, Misato Mochizuki and Stefan Lienenkaemper. Van der Weij recently designed and organized the sound reinforcement for 4 new film theatres at EYE, the Dutch National Film Institute in Amsterdam.

for more about Monica: bio
for more about Frank: website


A little history: ROADMAPS & DIARIES was the title of a raucous and reflective show at the beloved Bimhuis in Amsterdam. Together with Frank van der Weij, I gathered some of my favorite co-conspirators and composers together for an evening of wildly varied new music, film, improvisation, installations, rebellion, and a shared penchant for performing unconventional feats and going beyond the limitations of our instruments.

Het Parool (NL), about the precursor of ROADMAPS & DIARIES II:

'…a fascinating evening, packed with energy and theater…a high point was Germino performing [Arnoud Noordegraaf] in a duel with her projected self [on screen]...the apotheosis was a piece by German composer Heiner Goebbels…an explosive and formidable performance…an incandescent end to the evening'


The press, about Monica and Frank's shows: press

Contact & booking information:
Mary G. Madigan at MADIGAN NEW MUSIC
Email Mary Madigan
site: madigannewmusic.com

click to email Monica directly

this program is made possible with support from:
Gaudeamus Foundation
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
Eduard van Beinum Foundation
Nederlands Fonds Podiumkunsten