"The Proscenium & The Backstage"
LARA ST. JOHN, Violin
Canadian-born violinist Lara St John has been described as "something of a phenomenon" by The Strad and a "high-powered soloist" by the New York Times.
She has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Cleveland, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Seattle, Brooklyn, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, the Boston Pops and many more in North America. In Europe, she has played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Symphony (Hanover), Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Bournemouth Symphony, and the Amsterdam Symphony, among others. In Asia, solo appearances have included the Hong Kong Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, China Philharmonic in Beijing, Guangzhou Symphony and the Shanghai Broadcasting Orchestra. Lara has also performed with the Queensland Orchestra in Australia.
The Los Angeles Times has written, "St. John brings to the stage personal charisma, an unflagging musical imagination and genuine passion." Recitals in major concert halls have included New York, Boston, San Francisco, Ravinia, Washington DC, Prague, Berlin, Toronto, Montreal, and in the Forbidden City.
Lara St. John's latest recording with the Sim³n Bolvar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela and conductor Eduardo Marturet Vivaldi - The Four Seasons and Piazzolla - The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires reached No. 2 on the iTunes charts on its first day. The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote "Lara St. John is as captivating in the seductive scenes of the Piazzolla as she is crisp, caressing and colorful in Vivaldi's atmospheric paeans to nature" and Audiophile Audition stated "Do we need another Four Seasons? With playing and sound like this, yes we do!"
Lara's sixth recording, Hindson - Corigliano - Liszt/Kennedy/St. John was released in 2008 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, featuring two world premiere works; the Matthew Hindson Violin Concerto and the Martin Kennedy/ St John arrangement of Totentanz by Franz Liszt, as well as The Red Violin Suite by John Corigliano. In writing of his impressions of the recording, John Corigliano commented: "I'm thrilled to be included in a new recording by the brilliant and always surprising Lara St. John. She is a real maverick, as a performer and in her choice of repertoire. An opulent and virtuosic new violin concerto and my Red Violin suite are coupled with a newly arranged version of a 19th century pianistic tour de force in her latest stunning release."
Lara's fifth recording, Bach: The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo, described as "awe-inducing" by The Toronto Star, and "wild, idiosyncratic, and gripping" by the Los Angeles Times, was released in the autumn of 2007 where it climbed to No. 2 and was the year's best selling double album on iTunes.
Her third recording, Bach: the Concerto Album appeared in the "strongly recommended" section of Gramophone, which stated, "It is difficult to argue with such a technically dazzling and unfailingly musical interpretation." In June of 2005 the recording was released on iTunes where it immediately became No. 1 in the classical category. Lara has also recorded for Sony Classical.
Her debut CD, Bach: Works for Violin Solo, has sold over 50,000 copies and received resounding acclaim. The Chicago Tribune described Ms. St. John as having "superb technique and an irresistible vitality," while US News and World Report called the recording "an exquisite performance". Her second album, Gypsy, was described as "a sizzling display" by Gramophone, and The Strad called her "an electrifying player, as deeply satisfying in Bach as she is bewitchingly seductive in Waxman's Carmen Fantasy".
She has been featured in People, US News and World Report, on CNN's Showbiz Today, and NPR's All Things Considered, Fox News, CBC and a Bravo! Special: Live At the Rehearsal Hall.
During the last season performances included Lara's London debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, her Wolf Trap recital debut with pianist Martin Kennedy, recitals in Montreal and New York, a performance with The Philadelphia Orchestra as well as concerts in Graz, the Czech Republic and a concert in Central Park with The Knights. Highlights of the 2009 - 2010 concert season include a return to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and perform with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and Edmonton Symphony.
Lara began playing the violin when she was two years old. She made her first appearance as soloist with orchestra at age four, and her European debut with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon when she was 10. She toured Spain, France, Portugal and Hungary at ages 12 and 13, entered the Curtis Institute at 13, and spent her first summer at Marlboro three years later. Her teachers have included Felix Galimir and Joey Corpus.
She performs on the 1779 "Salabue" Guadagnini thanks to an anonymous donor and Heinl & Co. of Toronto
