New Jersey Star Ledger, January 6, 2001

Hugh Wolff returns and NJSO responds with fulfilling performance.

...."Business as usual" came in Wolff's welcome way of negotiating musical contradictions and contrasts for maximum effect.

It helped that violinist Lara St. John seemed to be on the same page right from the start of her two pieces, Chausson's "Poème" and Ravel's "Tzigane." Reversed in their order from their listing on the program, the works seemed to make much more sense as St. John played them. After the Chausson, which progresses as a short but self-contained entity for violin and orchestra, the Ravel opens with an extended violin solo, with the effect of mimicking the European tradition of having concerto soloists perform a solo encore before the interval.

But beyond that, the greater effect came through the playing itself. The Chausson's ultra-smooth veneer works best when there are no visible signs of effort, and St. John's approach was like silk barely touching the skin. The Ravel, on the other hand, filled with Gypsy influence, benefits greatly from a gritty sound, and to her credit St. John was not above taking that almost ethereal tone she cultivated and protected so well in the first piece and scraping it against the blackboard in the second.

Ken Smith