Works for Violin Solo (Lara St. John)

by

Johann Sebastian Bach

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In a classical market saturated with digitally remastered Szigeti as well as newcomers (Hillary Hahn) recording the golden oldies of classical music, the average listener is confronted with a tsunami of choices. Old masters/new upstarts, same 'old' pieces. On average I buy 5-6 CDs a week (w/ my overall collection around 5000), 4 times out of 5 it is a contemporary music disc of a living composer which has just been recorded for the first time, however that one time I buy a 'dead' composer's CD it HAS to have something fresh and insightful to stand out.

How many times have listeners heard yet ANOTHER performance/recording of the warhorse D minor Partita? I hear it played at least 3 times a year at the Conservatory! That said, Lara St. John's Bach disc is one which WILL sit in the memory. Listeners and critics may argue for or against her interpretations, but that belies the fact that her recording actually SAYS something. How many other recordings are 'nice', 'fine' or 'good'? Do they do anything beyond that? Her interpretations are BOLD, powerful and insightful wielding her instrument to sculpt Bach's counterpoint like clay. Each passage and turn brings out some new shape. No where is this more apparent than in the C Major Sonata where she keeps the droll of the opening ostinato and background while adding more sound to shape the outer voices as they come to the foreground. The control required to create such a line are so refreshing and ultimately exhilarating. If you want a hint in understanding Bach's 'complexity', listen to Lara St. John unravel it one phrase at a time.

I confess that I was curios about the debate related to the cover photo, so I bought this recording. I liked the photographs, textbook and recording quality is also good.

Lara St. John is neat, has a high-quality instrument and it is evident that she has remarkable technical skill. In the recording, partita is generally played "fast", hurrying to catch something (I don't know what). And in a point to hurry, Ms. St. John slows down. Generally her tempo and nuances do not follow the emotional stress in the music. In many places she focuses plain musical text, rather than Partita or Bach. I'm afraid famous "German spirit" is missing in Ciaccona. I absolutely do not agree with reviewers that generously praise her, and give 5 stars. In my opinion recording gets 3 over 5. (I believe it is fair in European standarts) I may try Romantic composers from Ms. St. John. She's 'good', but Partita needs more than being 'good' I guess.