Lara St. John - Reviews

With Hugh Wolff

Reviews of 2000

The Strad, December 2000

In a heavy season of violin-cello duos, violinist Lara St John and cellist Peter Bruns left every other pairing I've heard recently in the dust.

Calgary Herald, December 2, 2000

Very positively received by the audience, St. John received a standing ovation for her efforts. [...] there was much to enjoy in this account of an imperishable score, St. John’s stage presence [was] part of the success of her solo appearance.

The Honolulu Advertiser, October 10, 2000

Her expert handling of the torrential third movement ("Erzimachus") brought out its intensity, while her final uninflected pitch on the subsequent "Agathon" was perfectly formed and in tune.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin, October 9, 2000

Violinist Lara St. John makes quite an impression on stage, but her music makes an even greater impression.

Aggressive and committed, St. John was as physical in her performance as Bernstein once was conducting.

Eckernfoerder Zeitung, July 6, 2000

Their playing had such rare qualities as one only experiences them few times in a life time.

Berliner Morgenpost, May 11, 2000

The most difficult passages sounded light and effortlessly, the most unwielding and complicated sounds shined colorfully and were full of life.

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, June 1, 2000

Because the soloist [Julian Rachlin] had to cancel his performance with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra at the Tonhalle at short notice due to illness, the Canadian violinist Lara St. John stepped in.

The Edmonton Sun, May 27, 2000

Tell Lara we love her

She is known for being a passionate, intense, in-the-moment artist and that's what the audience at the sold-out Winspear heard.

She's a superbly disciplined artist who gets the maximum from each moment and the audience went wild, the first floor giving her a standing ovation.

Edmonton Journal, May 26, 2000

St. John's playing was direct and expressive, and her sense for bringing out the lyrical line, even through virtuoso passages, was always clear.

The Buffalo News, May 20, 2000

Technically, she cannot be faulted, and her intonation was virtually flawless.

The Boston Globe, April 8, 2000

Lara St. John sure, fluent with Bach

The identity Lara St. John was revealing here was that of a violinist with a complete and absolutely assured virtuoso technique, solid musical instincts, projection, and taste.

This violinist's intonation seemed as sure as one will ever hear it in this life. Whether the matter at hand was austere, intricate, gently lyrical, or mighty and majestic - even a brass choir was subtly evoked - clarity always reigned.

Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 20, 2000

St. John played this most epic of solo-violin pieces with deep seriousness and deeply reasoned expressivity, with its formidable technical demands securely in hand and its arching musical argument securely in mind.

The Cronicle-Herald, February 17, 2000

Lara St. John is the most remarkable young Canadian violinist of our time. She fuses technical virtuosity of the highest order with a musical imagination unmatched for intensity, variety and richness.

Imagination, daring, mastery - St. John has it all, and the level of a superstar.

The Strad, January 2000

An electrifying player, as deeply satisfying in Bach as she is bewitchingly seductive in Waxman's 'Carmen' Fantasy, St. John is something of a phenomenon.

St. John possesses the rare ability to master a composition from every conceivable angle and then play it as though she were discovering its special qualities for the first time. In such pieces as Bach's wrist-crippling C major Fugue (Sonata No. 3), you can take technique and perfect intonation for granted, as she miraculously shapes the music with a natural spontaneity and sensitivity. Her two albums to date (solo Bach and Gypsy) are bona-fide classics of the violin discography.

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