February 11, 2011
Sunday afternoon at two o’clock, Senior Piano major Monetta Nicole Thompson performed a variety of songs in her senior recital. With a large audience of family members, friends and faculty, Thompson took ownership of the performance in an incredibly talented way.
Her first piece, entitled “Rhapsody in B minor,” Thompson entered the stage elegantly and gracefully. As she sat down at the piano, she paused a moment to focus her attention. With an intense and vigorous opening, the song began with a brilliantly powerful section. The song continued with a variation of incredible runs up and down the piano, bright sudden moments of strong rhythmic elements, as well as numerous moments of mysterious sounding features.
The next song that Thompson performed was entitled “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” which true to its meaning had a simply consistent and soothing sound. This song included great amounts of melancholy feeling as well as passionate emotions.
Thompson then performed a quick, lively song entitled “Etude in C minor.” This piece consisted of perfectly executed technical skills that gave the song and performance an animated and energetic feel.
After a short intermission, Thompson returned to the stage to perform her next song entitled “Sonata in C minor,” which consisted of three movements. The first movement was entitled “Molto Allegro.”
This piece included alternating rhythmic chords as well as lively, gentle rhythms. The next movement was entitled “Adagio” and consisted of a lullaby feel that presented deep, rich tones carried out by great musicianship. The last movement in this song was entitled “Allegro Assai.” This movement was exceptionally mysterious sounding throughout with a brilliantly powerful ending.
To end her magnificent performance of the afternoon, Thompson concluded the set with a piece entitled “Hungarian Rhapsody.” This piece was filled with an abundance of musical qualities that gave it a uniquely interesting feel.
Beginning with an almost sassy start, the song quickly drew the attention of audience members. Then, with a section of low deep tones, the song filled the room with an overall sense of slight darkness.
Next, the piece became quickly paced with technical trills and musicality beyond belief. With a carnival like tone, this section of the song was distinct with unexpected dynamics and interesting rhythms.
Thompson wowed audience members with her astonishing talent that was shown through her performance of her impressive aptitude.
