Overview
Violinist Sonya Monosoff was a pioneer in the period instrument movement, having been a member of Noah Greenberg’s New York Pro Musica in its early years. Probably the first person in the United States to use the baroque violin in concert, she was the first to record the “Mystery” Sonatas and the Eight Sonatas of 1681 of Heinrich Biber. Her recording of Bach Sonatas with harpsichordist James Weaver won a Stereo Review “Best Record of the Year” award.
Shortly after graduation from the Juilliard Graduate School, where she studied on a fellowship with Louis Persinger, Ms. Monosoff joined the Galimir Quartet. Subsequently she formed her own chamber music ensemble which performed music from Henry Purcell to Bulent Arel. She joined the Cornell faculty in 1972 and for ten years was a member, with Malcolm Bilson and John Hsu, of the Amadé Fortepiano Trio.
Ms. Monosoff has given solo and chamber music recitals in Canada, Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong as well as in the United States. She had a Fulbright lectureship in New Zealand in 1988. Since 1991 she has taught violin and chamber music and given concerts in the Czech Republic, including a recital at the 1993 Prague Early Music Festival. She has taught and given master classes in a number of universities in the U.S. and Canada and has been a visiting professor at Bar-llan University (Israel) and the University of Ferrara (Italy). She retired from Cornell in 1997.