All this said we now come to the work on this CD and find her giving us a masterpiece performance of works that require only one thing. This one thing is her "solo violin" embracing us in a world of sonority that touches the very depths of our fervor for musical fulfillment. Here she stands completely on "Her merit and terms with the music she brings to life".

"DANCING SUITE TO SUITE" is a brilliant conceptual music experience that will leave you breathless and you'll come to realize the soloist and instrument have bonded into one cohesive unity. You really understand what the power of music is all about when the soul of a performer like Karen takes the notes from a piece of paper and animates them into living, vibrating experiences of musical embodiment. Karen has the heart and the soulpower to move the listener into a whole new world where the notes now send electricity into the ozone and charge our minds with visions of the universal illuminations dancing within us.

The two major works here and the delightful encore final piece become a feast for the ears and yes "the eyes"! Karen provides vivid dance movements into the solo interpretations of Ole Pullar Saxe's six movement DANCE SUITE for SOLO VIOLIN. Mr. Saxe composed the last movement "Salsa for Karen" as a gift for his new found friend when she visited Norway and Denmark in July 1998. He came to call her "his special violin muse" and sent her that first piece at a later date. Soon he began to write the other pieces for her and the result is this wonderful suite of world dances that give Karen a great centerstage showcase to delight concert audiences everywhere. The liner notes for this CD are so well written and detailed that I need not go into my views of the pieces other than to say I enjoyed each style offered and would love to see a live performance someday.

Now the really creative drive to make this CD work is the offering of another Suite for solo violin. This second work is none other than one of J. S. Bach's brilliant solo violin partitas dating from 1720. The Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV-1004 is one of several chamber solo works at a time when Bach was writing all of his great chamber works including the Brandenburg Concertos. This work is one of the great showcase pieces for any violinist to have in the solo performance category and Karen's performance is a surefire success that ties the element of the dance together with the other dance suite. Over two centuries separate the two works but the common denominator of dance form here makes for a convincing mix of musical programming. The placement of Ole Pullar Saxe's opus works ideally to catch the listener's attention and wows them into the fascinating world of the baroque counterpoint of Bach's music.

The conclusion of this CD is a very special encore performance of a Norwegian derived folk idiom in an arrangement by Odd Bakkerud. The FANITULLEN for Norwegian Hardangerfele is performed on Karen's own hardangerfele which was custom made for her.

She received the instrument while on the 1998 vacation to Norway where she met relatives for the first time and searched the roots of her Norwegian heritage. This tune played on the hardanger fiddle sounds really unique due to the instrument's special five resonating strings found below the bridge of the four regular stings. The sound is at once hypnotic and pulls you into a feeling of trance that surely can take you into states of mind leaning on the otherworldly. Read the liner notes for more on this fascinating national instrument of Norway. You'll definitely want to hear more of this type of music. The title of the tune in translation usually refers it as "The Devil's Tune".

Karen will leave you spellbound with this CD. Close your eyes and envision this lovely, talented muse of the violin as she twirls and propels the notes into a experience of the love of music, the love of emotional motion and the all aspiring love of life itself.