Project Description:
Polkastra's uproarious knee-slapping wild ride of a wedding soundtrack!
Featuring all the classic ceremony processionals and recessionals, the most beloved international wedding dances for the party, and a musical wind-down for those who had too much fun.
Reviews/Quotes:
"Polkastra is obviously having a blast in what feels like the most good-natured wedding ever".
Grade: A
Tampa Bay Times, April 2, 2013
"Would that most wedding parties were fortunate enough to have the quality of these musicians! For what they give moves beyond focusing on the specificities of one musical type to the quality of cross-breeding into other music as well, sometimes with astonishing results. All of the magic and merriment of a wedding ceremony are captured to rabid effect"
Audiophile Audition, Feb 26, 2013
"Formed in New York by violinist Lara St. John and recording on St. John’s label, Ancalagon (named after St. John’s pet iguana), Polkastra follows up its 2009 album, Apolkalypse Now, with this delightful collection of wedding songs from around the globe."
The Santa Fe New Mexican: Pasatiempo,
Feb 8, 2013
"'I Do': The Wedding Album benefited from the raging triumvirate of sharp talent, a sharper sense of humor and the sharpest of themes. It is likely that this will be the finest recording of its kind (whatever that blissfully is) this year."
All About Jazz
"Lots of classical musicians try to kick back and do something just as a joke. Few do it well. Violinist Lara St. John and a group of friends, including soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, out do themselves, and anyone else I have heard, with this klezmer/polka/slow drag group."
Buffalo News
"The perfect album for any couple entering an 'altared' state!"
Oscar and Pulitzer Prize Winner John Corigliano
"Great musicians, great arrangements, the Wedding Album is so much fun - Polkastra is Spike Jones and his City Slickers for the 21st Century."
musical comedy duo Igudsman and Joo
"Wildly idiosyncratic..a reminder that musical comedy works best when the musicianship is first-rate."
The New York Times
"The group attacks the genre with genuine gusto, evoking the dizzy, sweaty revelry of a Bohemian beer hall."
The Economist
"..here we have an intense, enjoyable, and madcap foray into the world of the international polka."
Audiophile Audition
"A classical-world-roots supergroup"
WNYC's Soundcheck
DigiBooklet: 
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Project Description:
BACH SONATAS
Lara St. John and Marie-Pierre Langlamet
Featuring Sonatas by J.S. Bach Performed on Violin and Harp, released February 14, 2012.
This winter, celebrated violinist Lara St. John and Marie-Pierre Langlamet, principal harpist of the Berlin Philharmonic, present an album of J.S. Bach sonatas offering a new perspective and performed on violin and harp. Always a thought-provoking musician, St. John raises the question of authenticity and performance practice on this new disc. Bach was a prolific composer, but also an inveterate arranger of his own work and that of others. The adaptability of this music, its capacity to be reinterpreted in new contexts, by different instruments, is perhaps its most authentic quality. It is in this spirit that the pieces are performed.
Reviews/Quotes:
Bach Sonatas Album Reviews
St. John pulls from her 1779 “Salabue” Guadagnini a tawny sound and subtle but wild interpretive concept that’s both highly addictive and totally authentic.
St. John and Langlamet particularly use this command of the eternally romantic violin and harp genre to exploit the music’s alternating moods of minor-key seriousness and major-key joy and exaltation."
Strings Magazine, April 6, 2012
'Right from the melancholy beauty of the opening Adagio of "Sonata No. 1 in B minor", it's a successful translation, with the subsequent Allegro revealing the dragonfly poise, beauty and manouverability afforded by the combination. The Adagio Ma Non Tanto section of "Sonata No. 3 in E minor" confirms a perfect, nuanced relationship between the two instruments, Lara St. John adding brief sprays of pizzicato at crucial moments. Faithful, yet innovative.'"
The Independent, April 6, 2012
'These are amazingly cool performances in temperament that generate warmth as the two instruments unite synergistically. On Bach Sonatas, St. John finds a musical soul mate and continues to cultivate her unique approach to making old music new again. The harp is a perfect foil for her crisp interpretation of Bach and Langlamet fully fits the bill as its driver. This prepares Bach for the parlor, that time-tested tradition of intimate performance among close friends.'"
All About Jazz, March 24, 2012
'Violinist Lara St. John and harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet interact with seamless elegance. The playing is polished and animated, full of subtle shadings.' Grade: A."
Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 18, 2012
St. John’s finely-played performance deserves focus as she clearly has an affinity for the cadence of Bach. The more subdued keyboard part isn’t necessarily a bad thing, either; Langlamet is a first-rate musician and her harp breathes a lilting freshness into the pieces. Its timbre also lends an appropriately stately aura."
La Scena Musicale, March 2012
Seldom has Bach sounded more delightfully autumnal. What I had initially pegged as a great relaxation album (which I’m sure it is) also contained a poetic allure, in its slow movements, which imbued everything with wonder."
The Times of Trenton Feb 24, 2012
The joy of the recording is the simple, unusual setting; these sonatas are usually done with harpsichord or piano, and hearing the works performed with harp accompaniment make them seem fresh, delicate and wholly new."
Rhapsody.com, Feb 2012
MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ***** (five stars)
"When the music is as brilliant and sparkling as we have here—Bach would certainly be thrilled—there simply remains no excuse under the sun to avoid acquiring this disc immediately. This composer oozes from the souls of these two performers."
Audiophile Audition review, Jan 31, 2012
....this is a refereshing take on Bach that shows some rethinking of the issues of historically informed practices of versus modern performances and shows there are more than just two ways to interpret the music.."
AllMusic.com, Feb 2012
...the two of them give the music an impressive range of dynamics and textures. This is music of melting loveliness..."
Buffalo News Review, Feb 1, 2012
The presence of harp instead of harpsichord (or piano) imparts a somewhat folk-like inflection and buoyancy, giving JSB's tunes a nice, palpable contrast with St. John's soulful, plaintive yet commanding violin. **** 1/2 (4 and a half stars)"
Icon Magazine, Feb 2012
" Serene. Passionate. Powerful. Restrained. Thoughtful. Abandoned..."
The London Free Press January 19, 2012
" Indeed, after hearing just the first sonata, I couldn't imagine wanting to hear it any other way......The results are not just enchanting but sometimes stunning, turning familiar tunes into welcome new creations"
Classical Candor January 17th, 2012
" Lara St. John happens to be a volcanic violinist with a huge, fabulous tone that pours out of her like molten lava. She has technique to burn and plays at a constant high heat. She is uninhibited, sometimes strikingly so.....But what makes her unique is the way she puts everything together. She has utter command of the material and the instrument. And she has seemingly utter spontaneity...."
L.A. Times November 15th, 2011
Press Release:
Project Description:
The Knights
A SECOND OF SILENCE
Eric Jacobsen, conductor
New Album dedicated to Schubert and Minimalism, featuring two Schubert symphonies paired with music by Erik Satie, Morton Feldman and Philip Glass. Released as an iTunes Exclusive February 28, 2012, with SACD/CD Hybrid on April 3, 2012
First American tour in April 2012
NEW YORK, NY – February 15, 2012 –
This spring, celebrated ensemble The Knights under the direction of Eric Jacobsen present “A Second of Silence,” a new album juxtaposing the works of Schubert with examples of minimalism from Satie, Feldman and Glass. The album will be released as an iTunes digital exclusive on February 28, 2012, with a wide release to all retailers on April 3, 2012. This release marks the ensemble’s second appearance on the Ancalagon label. Their first, a release of Mozart concerti with Lara and Scott St. John, won the 2011 Juno Award for Best Classical Album (Soloist with Large Ensemble).
In April, The Knights will embark on their first American tour. This eight-concert event will feature Copland's Appalachian Spring together with music of Ives, Dvorak, Golijov and Gaby Frank. The appearances take the ensemble to Troy, NY; Akron, OH; Granville, OH; Sewanee, TN; Columbus, GA; Athens, GA; Amherst, MA; and Rockville Centre, NY (tour details below).
“That kind of hovering, as if you’re in a register you’ve never heard. That’s one of the magics of Schubert.” – Morton Feldman
An ensemble that strives to bring a new perspective to familiar works, The Knights present the music of Schubert next to contemporary sounds. The works featured on “A Second of Silence” all evoke in some measure the tranquil “hovering” described by Feldman. They are not merely tranquil - quiet meditations are frequently interrupted by violent gesture - but dissolution into silence remains their ultimate object. Listeners are confronted with the contradiction between, on the one hand, progress towards a resolution, and, on the other, a relentless procession of repeated rhythms and melodic figures. The two Gymnopedies of Satie, in arrangements by Debussy, are perhaps the simplest examples of this sensation of drifting quiet, tending towards stillness though infinite in their potential for repetition.
“The kind of shared longing that he has, this saturated, unending longing." This is how Morton Feldman described Samuel Beckett, who is one connecting thread on the latest album. “But those words seem to describe all the music represented here, with a particular focus on Franz Schubert,” says Colin Jacobsen, Co-Artistic Director and Concertmaster of the Knights. “Those words account for the way Satie, Glass, Feldman and Schubert convey depth of feeling, contrast of light and dark, solitude and intimacy with the simplest of means."
"The Knights have been seeking a way to make a personal, intimate experience possible within the orchestral context, and this music spoke to us as part of that quest,” explains Eric Jacobsen, Co-Artistic Director and Conductor of the Knights. He conveys a simple message to the audience: “We hope this music seeps under your skin, finds its way into your heart, and before you know it the rest of the world will evaporate."
Reviews/Quotes:
" Talent For Punctuating Classics With Surprises...this ensemble has a formula, it is based on balancing new and unusual works with the most basic canonic classics."
The New York Times, June 24th, 2011
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
Reviews/Quotes:
I can't even think of a recording that I would name as second best to this one. This recording is in a class by itself.
American Record Guide
St. John's approach to these demanding works is a combination of supple grace and power
Strings Magazine
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
Violinists Lara and Scott St. John present a new Mozart recording to be released exclusively on iTunes two months prior to the Hybrid SACD/CD release on October 12th. The siblings St. John share the spotlight in three of the composer’s violin concerti recorded on Lara’s Ancalagon label. The focal point of the album is Mozart’s monumental Sinfonia Concertante (K. 364), the last and greatest of his string concerti. This piece is rarely recorded in its original form, with the viola part in scordatura. Scott St. John takes up the viola to join his sister on the recording, making this the first time the Sinfonia Concertante has ever been recorded by siblings. The remainder of the album lets each St. John take center stage. The Violin Concerto No. 1 (K. 207) is led by Scott, and Lara has the solo voice in the Violin Concerto No. 3 (K. 216). The innovative New York-based ensemble The Knights accompany the pair on all the works (also led by a sibling act composed of conductor Eric Jacobsen and concertmaster Colin Jacobsen). The internationally acknowledged sound recording legend Tonmeister Martha de Francisco is recording producer.
Reviews/Quotes:
" The slow andante of the Sinfonia Concertante is gorgeous. Lara St. John says she and her brother Scott have always encouraged one another and that collaborative nature comes through beautifully in this double concerto."
It's Alive, Minnesota Public Radio, November 16, 2010
" The kind of stylistic and technical unity you would expect from gifted siblings is definitely here, and it is clear that the St Johns know this piece inside out."
American Record Guide, November - December, 2010
" There's a fresh energy that feels as if they had just happened upon the scores for the first time, and were really getting off on reading through them. Very daring, and it never sounds contrived. "
Gramophone Magazine - The Awards Issue, November, 2010
" The pair play together so naturally that while there remains the requisite musical tension, there is none of the jarring of different tones that can occur in double concertos. "
The National, Abu Dhabi, October 20, 2010
" This is superior music making on all levels."
Audiophile Audition, October 1, 2010
" Splendid performances throughout, and the rich sound is perfectly balanced."
Classical CD Review, September, 2010
" I simply can't imagine a more satisfying recording of this glorious work."
The Wholenote, September 2010
" This is a match made in heaven. Together, these gifted young musicians have made a flawless recording..."
Strings Magazine, September 11, 2010
" The kind of stylistic and technical unity you would expect from gifted siblings is definitely here, and it is clear that the St Johns know this piece inside out."
American Record Guide, Nov. - Dec., 2010
" There's a fresh energy that feels as if they had just happened upon the scores for the first time, and were really getting off on reading through them. Very daring, and it never sounds contrived. "
Gramophone Magazine - The Awards Issue, November, 2010
" The pair play together so naturally that while there remains the requisite musical tension, there is none of the jarring of different tones that can occur in double concertos. "
The National, Abu Dhabi, October 20, 2010
" This is superior music making on all levels."
Audiophile Audition, October 1, 2010
" Splendid performances throughout, and the rich sound is perfectly balanced."
Classical CD Review, September, 2010
" I simply can't imagine a more satisfying recording of this glorious work."
The Wholenote, September 2010
" Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante has enjoyed many inspired pairings, but none sharing the passion, empathy and genetics of the St. Johns."
All About Jazz, August 17, 2010
" This is consistently stylish and individual Mozart playing from the engaging St. John siblings, and a disc that all Mozartians will enjoy."
The Classical Review, August 16, 2010
"Teaming up for Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, Lara and Scott St. John deliver an intimate, animated rendition, rounded out by the exceptionally polished Knights."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, August 8, 2010
"The playing by both soloists is of the utmost refinement and grace, even proceeding through the movements at as spirited a pace as they do."
Classical Candor, August 5, 2010
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
An eclectic and international cast of characters including a Canadian folk fiddler, the Met's contrabassoonist, an Israeli accordionist and percussionist, a jack-of-all-trades bassist, a French Horn playing record store clerk and an internationally renowned violin soloist met in a New Jersey studio to record a polka album just for fun. An idea that began as a lark quickly grew into an eccentric, virtuosic and energetic exploration of the roots of polka: folk, country, classical and jazz. Polkastra is a unique world music project that celebrates both the joy of music and the power of dance to unite cultures. From the American Midwest and the North of Canada to the mountains of Bohemia and the deserts of Israel - Apolkalypse Now poses the important question "Would you like sauerkraut, poutine, goulash or hummus with that?"
Reviews/Quotes:
"All About Jazz Top Ten Releases of 2009 "
All About Jazz, January 6, 2010
| Read Full Article |
"Much of the set was silly stuff, in a good way, and a reminder that musical comedy works best when the musicianship is first-rate. "
New York Times, September 16, 2009
| Read Full Article |
In a similar vein comes Polkastra with their cleverly put together and musically superb Apolkalypse Now.
All About Jazz, August 2009
| Read Full Article |
There's everything but the kitchen sink in this album: quotes from Beethoven and Paganini, Gypsy licks, impressive contrabassoon solos, and laughter. It's a lot of fun.
Violinist.com Interview, August 2009
| Read Full Article |
The playing is virtuosic and energetic, but not too disciplined that it falls into the “stuffy” category and not too ragged that we feel the musicians are creating a phony atmosphere. After all, a few beers relax but a keg quickly dissipates into chaos!
Audiophile Audition, August 2009
| Read Full Article |
The Grammys may have cancelled its category -- but Lara St. John's polka record is still the dance album of the year.
The London Free Press, August 2009
| Read Full Article |
The group attacks the genre with genuine gusto, evoking the dizzy, sweaty revelry of a Bohemian beer hall...After all, the world is a happier place when songs end with a hearty 'Hey!'.
The Economist, July 2009
| Read Full Article |
lusty and hilariously diverse.
The Buffalo News, July 2009
| Read Full Article |
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
This stunning recording features the extraordinary violinist Lara St. John. She and the musicians of the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra give an inspired performance under the baton of Eduardo Marturet.
José Antonio Abreu,
the founder of El Sistema
Reviews/Quotes:
Marturet, who also led the Bolivar Orchestra of his native Venezuela on a sizzling recording released in April of the Vivaldi and Piazzolla Four Seasons with star Canadian fiddler Lara St. John
Miami Herald, December, 2009
I can imagine no suaver, more atmospheric performance. A sultry atmosphere pervades this reading that feels just right.
American record Guide, July/August, 2009
Very few recordings contain that convincing nuevo tango fusion of deep passion and raw emotional power that Piazzolla himself on bandoneón with his preferred quintet were able to convey.
MusicWeb International, June, 2009
All this would be off-putting if she were just a beauty with adequate technique. But the thing is, Lara St. John really is a virtuoso.
Head Butler, May, 2009
Canada Watch Exclusive Arts and Culture Spotlight Interview with Lara
Canada Watch, April 13, 2009
The Piazzolla is certainly one of the best things Lara St. John has ever recorded; she plays with unbridled passion and a kind of sexy ferociousness, and dips into interpretive effects more common to long ago violinists...swooping portamento, a beautifully weighty projection of the melodic line and a very high level of expressiveness, edge and passion maintained throughout the performance.
All Music.com, April 13, 2009
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
Cleveland Plain Dealer, March 29, 2009
Do we need another Four Seasons? With playing and sound like this, yes we do!
Audiophile Audition, March 2009
Gratefully, St. John continues to eschew the "standard" repertoire for her more creative whims, this brilliant Four Seasons pairing being a fine example.
All About Jazz, March 2009
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
John Corigliano writes:
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.
Reviews/Quotes:
American Record Guide, July 2009
"St. John plays with her usual intensity, the Royal Philharmonic is a very polished ensemble, and Sarah Ioannides provides precise leadership."
Fanfare, April 2009
""In either case, these three compositions with strong extra-musical associations - Hindson's hauntingly evocative tryptych, Corigliano's equally atmospheric movie score in miniature, and Listz's theatrical horror show should appeal broadly to general listeners...Strongly recommended.""
Strad Magazine, November 2008
"..she is an extremely fine player who mixes quicksilver technique with gripping spontaneity to captivating effect."
Gramophone, October 2008
"All Praise to this Excellent Violinist for Championing Such a Vivid New Concerto"
Classical CD Review.com
"But this is intriguing to the ear, and the solo violin, especially when played as brilliantly as it is here, does have a rather macabre sound in this music."
Originally published in http://www.classicalcdreview.com/MC245.html June 2008
London Free Press, originally published in The London Free Press, May 28, 2008
"As you may detect, I am probably a little overawed by St. John's brilliant fire -- and am overwhelmed every time I play this recording."
All About Jazz, originally published in All About Jazz, May 23, 2008
"St. John demonstrates the pioneer spirit in an art often thought of as dusty and drab. Her effect on the music is one of warm humidity, a frankly sensual vision seen through the lenses of certain youth, wonder, and determination."
Palm Beach Post, originally published in The Palm Beach Post, May 4, 2008
"Hindson’s music is monumentally eclectic...Lara St. John shows an admirable spirit of risk-taking with this disc... it’s an exciting recording that tells us a lot about the ambition and independent-mindedness of this excellent violinist."
Audiophile Audition, Originally published in Audiole Audphiition, April 18, 2008
"Lara St. John plays as she usually does, no one finer in my experience, and has done a great service in bringing the Hindson concerto to light. Highest recommendation."
Montreal Gazette, Originally published in The Montreal Gazette, April 10, 2008
".In all the works the excitement of St. John’s style and the colour of the Royal Philharmonic under Sarah Ioannides are nicely captured by Martha de Francisco"
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo was added to the iTunes library in October 2007 and became the best selling double album of 2007.
Reviews/Quotes:
"St. John’s Bach: The Six Sonatas & Partitas for Violin Solo is quintessential Bach for the 21st Century on a number of levels."
100 Degrees At Midnight, August 7, 2010
"St John is particularly adept at balancing the interplay of internal parts and preserving continuity of line and rhythmic flow...she conveys the gravitas of Bach’s language with mature assurance...These attributes, combined with her clean, accurate left-hand technique, her keen ear for tonal colouring and the highly individual, largely unforced sound that she produces from her 1779 ‘Salabue’ Guadagnini violin, result in a thought-provoking achievement from a rapidly maturing artist, beautifully recorded in a unique three-dimensional manner."
Originally published in The Strad, April, 2008
"I simply don't know where else you can go to hear Bach played at this level of artistry. Once again she eclipses her competition"
American Record Guide, January and February, 2008
"Lara St. John stands fully clothed by the beach on the cover of her new Ancalagon CD, but the Canadian violinist has become an even more impressively untamed Bach player than when her publicity photos were more provocative. Her account, in excellent SACD sound, of Bach's Sonatas and Partitas is wild, idiosyncratic and gripping."
Los Angeles Times, December 9, 2007
"...a stunning acheivement. The Canadian violinist takes the music at its written word, while imbuing each piece with personal touches that cast new light on familiar ground."
Blogcritics Magazine, October 23, 2007
"...easily the best in the past 20 years. She has lost none of her youthful and daring enthusiasm for the time-worn pieces while gaining a certain gravity that allows her to reveal additional treasures contained in the Master’s scores. St. John’s intonation and approach are flawless."
The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, October 21, 2007
"St John owns this work and I have rarely been so convinced of the rightness of an interpretation...Her passionate, complex readings catapult to the top of my list, and I am still discovering things with score in hand after hearing the set four times so far."
Audiophile Audition, October 4, 2007
"And it would probably be good if you knew that you will like this music even if you've never listened to anything so-called 'classical'."
With that, the most recent (and extremely bloggy) Shallot Q&A with Lara St. John.
An Interview with Lara by Adam Baer on the Glass Shallot, September 26, 2007
"...awe-inducing solo playing. There isn't a note or nuance that isn't accounted for."
Toronto Star, Sept 25, 2007
"St. John's Bach has strong personal flair and a sense of dramatic sweep, as though she were an actress playing a role rather than a musician with an instrument; it is variable in tone, broadly expansive rhythmically and dazzling technically. St. John's Bach is also, in a word or two, breathtakingly beautiful."
allmusic.com, Sept 24, 2007
"St. John sounds terrific on these pieces, playing with big colors, intense interpretations, and in several cases, dazzling speed. Her tempos throughout are on the fast side, which I like, and she does memorable things with her performance like opening the D major of the big Chaconne from the Second Partita with a hushed, amost defeated sound, before building up again to the end."
Palm Beach Post, Sept 16, 2007
"Her new recording (Bach: The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo) is nothing if not intense. And like St. John's choices about marketing and packaging, it's also fresh and new. There's a brilliance and sparkle to her playing, an energy and momentum."
PJStar.com, Sept 9, 2007
"The Montreal High Lights Festival inaugurated its classical programming Thursday with Lara St. John, a violinist once known for her eye-popping cover art and aggressive style. That was the 1990s. The blonde playing Bach in the Bonsecours Chapel was a serious musician, and of the highest order.
A close-to-symphonic tone, a personal way with a phrase: Such artistry defeats all questions of historical correctness. If an interpretation that plumbs the depths and scales the heights of the famous Chaconne is not authentic, what is?
It was interesting to hear St. John project sustained notes without vibrato, not to attenuate the sound but to expand it. The fugue of the Sonata No. 3 was masterful both intellectually and technically. The double of the Courante from the Partita No. 1 was astonishing. What velocity and bravura!
St. John dedicated the Sonata to a friend whose death she learned of only that afternoon. Is this why the recital was so powerfully conceived and expressed? Only about 70 people were present, but they will not soon forget the experience."
(Lara playing J.S. Bach Partita No. 2 in d and Sonata No. 3 in Montreal)
Article by Arthur Kaptainis, Montreal Gazette, Feb. 24th, 2007
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
Reviews/Quotes:
At long last, Lara St. John has returned to the recording studio after establishing her own record label and has given us more music by her favorite composer. We have here the canonical solo concertos in A minor and E and the Double Concerto in D minor. The performances are delightful, individual, even exciting, unlike any other recording of these works that I know. This should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with St. John's playing. Before I heard this recording, I never realized that this music had so much drama, specially in the slow movements. As with any really great performance, I felt as though I were hearing the music for the very first time. The New York Bach Ensemble is a superb group that brings out the contrapuntal interplay between orchestra and soloists like no other group I've heard. Best of all, they match the soloist's enthusiasm. One thing I especially like is that the keyboard part is sometimes assigned to a chamber organ rather than the usual harpsichord.
St. John is joined by her brother Scott, professor of violin at the University of Toronto, in the Double Concerto, and their stylistic unity is a real plus. St. John plays the Sonata with the same high-octane style she has in the concertos. The fugue is especially exciting; and, while many don't know what to do with the opening Adagio, she understands its mercurial, improvisational character very well. She finds a trembling delicacy in the Siciliana that has eluded others.
This recording of the concertos is in a class by itself. I can't even think of a recording that I would name as second best to this one. Those who have not yet acquainted themselves with St. John's exceptional artistry would do well to hear this. Excellent sound.
American Record Guide, May 2002
Lately, folks are starting to take Lara St. John—the Canadian-born violinist that Fashion Toronto once called a "six-foot amazon with the waist-length, honey-blonde tresses"—much more seriously. Of course, St. John, a shrewd marketer as well as a gifted performer, has caused a storm of controversy, posing nude on the cover of her debut CD (her breasts were obscured by the violin) and often making suggestive comments in the press.
A recent review of this CD prompted Gramophone to scoff that St. John (who appears vamping in heavy makeup and see-through dress in a booklet fold-out on a poster-size pin up) "has no need to engage in such ignoble marketing ploys" while praising her "silvery" tone, "fleet tempos," and remarkable technique. St. John’s approach to these demanding works is a combination of supple grace and power. There is so much joy in St. John’s performance (she plays exquisitely on the 1779 "Salabue" Guadagnini known as The Resurrection) that it would be a shame to dismiss her for being crass or just too darn cute.
Strings Magazine, May 2002
Lara St John does not play a Baroque violin but is clearly aware of current trends in period instrument performance practice. She has a sleek and silvery one, favours fleet tempos, and applies vibrato judiciously. The effect in these Bach concertos is reminiscent of Kennedy’s recording with the Berlin Philharmonic yet considerably more stylish and satisfying. Even if the New York Bach Ensemble cannot match Berlin’s plush string sound, the New Yorkers evoke the unique character of each work, making a clear distinction, for example, between the thick textures of the A minor Concerto and the airier quality of its E major counterpart. 
As for St John, she makes the most ordinary passages come to life. Listen to the brief, ascending sequence beginning at 2’ 27” in the first movement of the A minor Concerto, which she grips so tightly, the pressure can be felt in one’s chest. She can be charming as well as intense. Her playing of the E major Concerto’s finale, for example, is joyous and balletic - a far cry from Kennedy’s jagged account. Ballet also comes to mind in the opening movement of the Double Concerto, as St John and her brother Scott bound through the intricately entwined solo parts like dancers leaping in and out of each other’s arms. The sublime Largo is transformed into a lilting Siciliano - open-hearted and ecstatic rather than hushed and reverential.
Filling out the disc, St John gives a provocative performance of the G minor solo Sonata. Some listeners may be taken aback by the expressive edginess she brings to the opening Adagio, or by by the slashing chords in the fugue, but it is difficult to argue with such a technically dazzling and unfailingly musical interpretation.
Strongly recommended, then, despite the album’s distasteful artwork. Although St John does not pose nude here - as she did for for a previous album, with only a violin for cover - her posture is suggestive. And the booklet folds out into a poster-size pinup in which she appears wearing heavy lipstick and exhaling a lazy curl of cigarette smoke. Given her exceptional talent, St John has no need to engage in such ignoble marketing ploys, Her playing speaks for itself.
Gramophone February 2002
DigiBooklet:
Project Description:
Reviews/Quotes:
The selections on this CD are, for the most part, familiar classical compositions. On "Carmen" Fantasie (Franz Waxman), and Variations on Dark Eyes (Ilan Rechtman), tracks one and two respectively, Ms. St. John's violin sings and cries with so much feeling that I sat fixated, listening to each note as it gently lingered in the air of the recording venue long past the moment at which it was played. Track seven, Ravel's Tzigane, is as exquisitely performed as track nine, Czardas Caprice (Ilan Rechtman). Both of these pieces are full of the gypsy spirit. Throughout this recording pianist/composer Ilan Rechtmen accompanies Ms. St. John with a beautiful, sensitive and complimentary piano.
SoundStage! - February, 1998
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Reviews/Quotes:
St. John saves her best playing for the Sonata No. 3, particularly in the Adagio/Fuga sections where her double stops are heart-rending, full-bodied and passionate. The Fuga is the pinnacle of refinement. St. John’s single note articulation is rarified. Bach: Works for Solo Violin, Partita No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1004, Sonata No. 3. in C Major, BWV 1005 is a great Bach violin sampler that should make the listener look forward to St. John’s recording for the complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin (BWV 1001–1006).
BlogCritics Magazine - October 18, 2007
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Lara's first CD release on Sony Classical, re: Bach features bold and innovative arrangements of the music of J.S. Bach that reframe it in new soundscapes that draw on jazz, world and pop influences. The recording brings Lara together with English composer/producer Magnus Fiennes and arranger Brian Gascoigne, along with such unusual guest artists as the Indian tabla virtuoso Trilok Gurtu and pedal steel guitar legend B.J. Cole.