All Things Considered, November 11, 1996 Big Sales for Sexy Violin Soloist radio interview by Robert Siegel ©All Things Considered Robert Siegel, Host: This is All Things Considered. I'm Robert Siegel. Noah Adams, Host: And I'm Noah Adams. Siegel: On the cover of her new CD, Lara St. John appears with her violin. She appears to be naked behind the violin. Her hair is down on her bare shoulders, her face lit perhaps by sunlight through venetian blinds. Lara St. John is a Canadian born, thoroughly accomplished soloist, has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Hungarian Philharmonic. Some say she looks 15 and the word jail bait has been used to describe the photograph. Ms. St. John says simply it's a recording of Bach for a solo violin. The photograph is appropriately simple. Lara St. John, violinist: It doesn't strike me as anything particularly sexy or revealing or even sensual, I mean, even that is going too far, in my opinion. Siegel: Uh-huh. St. John: I didn't think of it like that at all. I was frankly very surprised when all this stuff started to happen. And it was a complete photo shoot. I mean we did a lot of other stuff too. But it just so happened that this was the one that everyone liked so much and they decided to use it and I did not veto it in the end. Siegel: Didn't veto it in the end. Did you ever have any misgivings? Did you say, well, why should I have to take my clothes off to do a CD cover, I am a very serious musician? St. John: Well I mean I was just - it was at the end of the photo shoot and I was just sort of having fun. I mean, whether or not my clothes are off in that photo is something I think that only I know and the photographer. You can't tell, so it's not really obvious. Siegel: But let's - to the viewer you don't have any clothes on, let's say. St. John: It would appear so, yeah. Siegel: But at that point did you say to yourself, why should I have to take off my clothes to sell classical music? St. John: Well, I mean, I wasn't thinking that way. And it wasn't to sell the CD, it was to do something unusual and perhaps break down some of this elitism stigma that is inherent in classical music today. And perhaps demystify to become more innovative and to make things more interesting and less highbrow. Siegel: You wrote to the editor of the Edmonton Journal, in Canada, "the use of this photograph was not entirely my choice, but I did choose not to veto it. What is classical music if not the epitome of sensuality, passion and understated erotica that popular music even with all of its energy and life cannot even begin to touch." So you are in a way saying that classical music is indeed a sensuous thing? St. John: Sensuous thing yes, and sensual perhaps although I was not trying to go anywhere near sex or pornography with this cover. And even sensuous, I mean, ok, I might say, admit that for the cover but anything more than that for the cover is way off the mark, I would say. Siegel: He had criticized the cover. St. John: Well, he didn't criticize it, he wrote a commentary about it. He didn't mention the music at all. Siegel: What is the connection in your mind between the music on the CD and the cover art? St. John: Well, Bach is Bach. Anything on a cover would probably be wrong. I mean it can't be described or it can't be - to me at least - put into visual terms. I mean I don't know, what would be right for a cover, a picture of a brook or something like that? That's a tough question. Siegel: I want to go back to this idea in your note about the understated erotica. Do you find Bach's music to be erotic? St. John: Not erotic per se, but extremely passionate. I mean the guy had real red blood in his veins, for sure, and I think that can be heard through everything he wrote. In particular these two really superb works. I mean the Chaconne is pathos and passion and all of the above. I mean the guy had 20 kids. Siegel: I wondered if you ever think when you're performing Bach that if you ever try to imagine what was in his mind at that moment when he was writing the Chaconne or any other part of his music? St. John: I guess the reason that we play music is to get into the composer's mind at that time. Especially these things, I mean, they're so personal from him - it's for one instrument that's not even a large instrument - I mean he wrote these huge massive, statuesque pieces of music for a little box with four gut strings on it. It doesn't make sense and yet I think for him it was a very special thing because why else would he do that? I think it was a big challenge for him and he got very inspired. Siegel: In the liner notes you have a quotation from Johannes Brahms about the Chaconne: "If I imagine that I could have created, that I could have created even conceived a piece I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth shattering experience would have driven me out of my mind." Did you find the music to be that intense when you're playing? St. John: Yes. With the large ones in particular I tend to go into a strange state, almost a trance-like state, and working before the recording session there were days where I would wake up in D minor and things like that. It gets inside your brain and it's intense. It's just really the only word I can come up with right at the moment. Siegel: Do you think, Ms. St. John that 20 years from now you'll walk into a record - whatever they have 20 years from now and see this CD with the photograph and look back and laugh about it? Or how do you think it will play out? St. John: Well, I am sure I'll look back and laugh in memory of all these commentaries and quite hilarious stuff that has happened. Yeah, I'll proably look back what when I am 40 or something and say wow that was cool. Siegel: Lara St. John talking with us from New York about her recording of "Bach Works for Solo Violin."