Lizzie Mendoza
Julianna Ramirez, violin
Ryan Eads, marimba
Sabine Klein, piano
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
7:30 pm
Recital Hall
18, 2025, 7:30 PM
Romance, op. 11 (1879) Antonin Dvořák (1841–1904)
Viy: A Folk Tale (2025)
Sabine Klein, piano
Violin Concerto No. IV, op. 31 (1854) Andante
Adagio Religioso Scherzo Finale, Marziale
Pause
Closing (1984)
Sabine Klein, piano
Monica A. Mendoza (b.1997)
Julianna Ramirez, violin
Ryan Eads, marimba
Henri Vieuxtemps (1820–1881)
Philip Glass (b. 1937) arr. Lizzie Mendoza
Mishima
3′
Mendoza: Viy: A Folk Tale
“He heard wings beating against the glass of the church windows and their iron frames, heard claws scratching iron with a rasping noise and countless powers banging on the doors, trying to break in. His heart pounded heavily all the while; shutting his eyes, he kept reading incantations and prayers.”
—Nikolai Gogol, Viy
Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852) is your favorite author’s favorite author. A Ukrainian writer who moved to St. Petersburg as an adult, Gogol’s influence on Slavic literature is immense and remarkable. My sister Lizzie and I love the works of Dostoevsky and Gogol, and this short horror novella by Gogol is one of my sister’s favorites in particular.
Viy tells the story of a young philosophy student who is called to a rural Ukrainian village to pray for three nights over the corpse of a young woman who is rumored to have been a [...] witch. The three nights become more and more terrifying, as the corpse comes to life and searches for the philosopher, who she cannot see as long as he stands inside a chalk circle. The witch summons hellish monsters to help her find him, eventually calling upon the most frightening monster of them all—Viy—a monster made of earth, roots, and iron.
This novella combines folklore, religion, and Gogol’s personal creativity. The eponymous monster is claimed by Gogol to be a character from Ukrainian folklore, but he is actually Gogol’s own creation. This brings to mind horror movies that open with a title card that says, “based on a true story.” The concept of three nights that progressively get scarier and more dangerous is also reminiscent of horror games like Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014). I think that this just goes to show that no matter where we are from and no matter what time period we live in, human beings love a good scary story!
Viy: A Folk Tale is dedicated to Elizabeth Hazel Mendoza.
—Monica A. Mendoza
STUDENT
Lizzie Mendoza is a senior music therapy major who has been playing violin for 17 years. Mendoza enjoys playing all sorts of music, and particularly enjoys playing in the pit orchestra setting. Whether it be in the university orchestra, in a pit orchestra, or in a string quartet, she simply loves playing violin. Mendoza hopes to continue playing new music either solo or with an ensemble, while she works towards her MT-BC credential.
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