Customer Reviews

Bach: The Concerto Album

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read a lot about this latest release in the press, but while most praise Lara for her energetic playing, many seem to be shocked about the cover art. I couldn't disagree more! Here we have a hip young violinist whose main goal seems to be to bring great music to the masses, and she is not allowed to market it accordingly? Test yourself when you stroll along the aisles of Tower Records and see which releases you pick up and which ones you pass by. Lara's latest has what it takes to get noticed.

Of course, this kind of marketing would be misguided if she couldn't back it up with thrilling and intense interpretations. She employs a good mix of period performance practice and modern violin technique. Finally a violinist who doesn't milk each melodic line just because she can. This is not playing you hear in conservatories. There is refreshingly spare use of romantic vibrato and her lean sound meshes well with the crisp orchestra sound. Most importantly, her fleet tempos match the character of the music.

A must-buy! If you liked her previous two recordings you will not be disappointed. And I recently stumbled on her website - what a kick---site! I hope Ms. St. John will continue her unconventional path in music.

Reviewer til860 is right on about the cover art. Worse than the cover is the inside poster, where she looks like a street dwelling drug addict who found a violin in the gutter. If you buy Classical CD's on the basis of thier cover art, you may want to pause and consider. However, there is a more important question on the subject of the relative value of an artists technique vs. the nuances of their interpretation of the music. Some apparently find this CD to be a little flat in the interpretation department. However, I found that her effortless and undeniably expert technique lead me to an experience of the structure of Bach's music that was very satisfying. Its a worthwhile CD.

There is a common say that, soon or later, one reaches his/hers level of incompetence. I have been following Lara's career, starting with her first and amazing CD some years ago. This is her third record and I have heard it several times in search for her well known art and virtuoso.

What I found, specially in the sonata, was crystal technique but an absense of art. And this is what music is all about.

The concertos are a far resemblance of the vigor and beauty shown in her first CD. There is no doubt that Lara is an amazing performer, but something must be wrong with the way her art is maturing.

Her website stopped displaying her schedule two years ago. What's next?

Often criticised for the artwork on her CDs this disc by the 'junoesque' Ms St John deserves far more than a cursory look at the cover. I urge you to really listen to this disc. In this day of bland, formulaic Big Record Company marketing this disc stands out for what is actually on it - don't judge it by its cover.

You may know these works like old friends but Lara's playing makes you sit up and listen and awakens your brain and ears to approaching these works afresh. How often can you say that about any CD in this day and age?

I was in the viola section of an orchestra with whom Ms. St. John performed the A Minor Concerto in Roswell, NM. That was 13 or 14 years ago. The violinist is quite vibrant in personality and she did socialize with the orchestra musicians. So the lightning speed at which she performs the allegro movements are no surprise. I believe she toned it down a little in live performance. I think the tempi were due to lack of maturity and her need to show off virtuosity rather than musicality. Recordings that I have heard in more recent times show a more mature outlook and therefore more musicianship. As her album covers show, St. John is definitely not stodgy. And also like her album covers, her performances are provocative. The collaboration between the New York Bach Ensemble and between St. John's brother (violinist in the St. Lawrence String Quartet) in the Double Concerto is impeccable, even if you find the tempi too similar to the speed of lightning. This reviewer finds the tempi more annoying in the Double Concerto than in the single ones, but it is refreshing to hear Bach that isn't either romanticized or dull.

Lara St. John's first Bach album was released in 1996, and featured adequate (if uninspired) renditions of the 2nd Partita & 3rd Sonata. One would have hoped that in the intervening six years, she would have acquired a little more depth to her playing, but the reverse seems to have happened. Her interpretation of the G-minor Sonata is impatient and shallow, and was a big big disappointment to me. There are any number of conservatory students who could render an interpretation with more depth.

But the Sonata just tops off an album that features absolutely robotic performances of the concerti. Really, one wonders why they even bothered with live musicians...just program the score into a synthesizer and let 'er rip. The result would have been pretty much the same...technically quite proficient, but bloodless & pedantic. Anyone who thinks this is "passionate" clearly hasn't been listening to the right performers.

As far as the cover art...who really cares. It was the only remotely interesting thing about the whole tiresome album.

Nevermind the tacky, come-hither CD cover art. If there's something fresh and genuinely captivating to offer, the CD can look like last week's leftovers, for all I care. Lara St. John's critical acclaim on previous CDs notwithstanding, I find very little here to capture my attention. Her Bach is tossed off with facility, but she barely skims the surface of these concertos. Technical virtuosity and speed are one thing, but a deep understanding of the music seems to escape Ms. St. John. She rushes through all works with the same nervously hurried pace and reading, never resting for the briefest moments to allow for a significant pause. The three violin concertos all suffer a fate of sameness--even between movements. The G Minor Sonata lacks a certain intensity and gracefulness. Well, it might be fastfood Bach, but at least it's J.S. Bach, which accounts for the two stars.

I enjoy listening to Lara St John's interpretation of these works. They feel original and fresh.

I have at least a hundred classical CD's, mostly featuring violin soloists. This is the album I play most often. Rather than playing the music, Lara St. John is the conduit through which Bach's spirit has chosen to express his art.