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"the first half... featured violinist
Stephanie Chase playing (Beethoven's) Concerto in D Major. This alone was worth the price of
admission." - Springfield News Sun - October 2007
"one of the
violin greats of our era." (Newhouse Newspapers)
"an evening dedicated to violin,
indeed to violinists, that was offered by the Milano Classica for
the concert on the University’s musical season. To the American,
Stephanie Chase, the fates of the Concerto in A Major of Mozart
were entrusted. Preceded by an impressive resumé, the American violinist
confirmed that she is a concert musician of class: faultless as to
technical domination of the instrument, malleable and personal in the
phrasing, and resolute with authoritative mien whether in virtuosic
aspects or the ample singing passages in the Mozart concerto."
(La Provincia, Pavia, Italy - February 2007)
"though
basically light salon music, they have so much elegance that their
unabashed romantic sentimentality never seems cheap or saccharine.
These performances are greatly helped by
Chase's technical control, beautiful sound, rhythmic flexibility,
unerring taste, and natural stylistic affinity. Avoiding
condescension and exaggeration, the players bring out the charm and
conceal the weaknesses of the music." (Review of
Bygone Days, Strings Magazine - February 2007)
"surely the season's most dazzling program...."
(San Francisco Chronicle - March 2007)
October 8, 2007: "The first half...featured violinist Stephanie Chase
playing (Beethoven's) Concerto in D Major. This alone was worth the
price of admissiom as Kuss Auditorium was filled with sumptuously sweet
sounds emitted from her 1742 Guarnerius violin" - Springfield News Sun
Sioux City Journal
Chase stands out with bold choices
By Bruce R. Miller - Sioux City Journal staff
writer, posted April 15, 2007
Violinist
Stephanie Chase was like a tour guide through Spain Saturday night,
taking the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and its audience on a telling
and stirring journey.
Using Edouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole Op. 21 as her vehicle, Chase
didn't waste time with the mundane, prodding the orchestra through the
Allegro with precision and force. In the more romantic Scherzando, she
turned to the violins, as if to coax them out of the countryside. Then,
in the Intermezzo, she became reflective and, at times, defiant. Indeed,
when the rest of the musicians attempted to overwhelm her with volume,
she answered in turn and held the high notes. More playful in the
Andante, Chase was like an entertainer at a restaurant, relaxing,
inviting.
The piece, written as a showcase for violinists, certainly isn't for the
timid. It challenges its soloist and dazzles with its flourishes.
Wearing a sparkly, multi-colored dress, Chase didn't disappear into the
sea of black. Like her bold musical choices, she stood out, confident in
her ability and style. While the orchestra wasn't as complementary as it
might have been, it didn't get in her way.
Chase knew exactly where she was leading everyone and she didn't have
time for dawdlers. Even conductor Xian Zhang fell in line.
Antonin Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Op. 92 opened the evening at the
Orpheum Theatre and it seemed like an ideal "welcome back" piece for
Zhang. No-nonsense, quick and bright, it allowed Zhang to show how she
can get precision where others can't. While there was a ragged middle
section and a part that threatened to spin out of control, the powerful
opening was enough to show what's possible when Zhang is wielding the
baton.
Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 68, however, seemed
under-rehearsed. Luckily, Zhang had an ally on the timpani and a couple
of good moments for the trombones and French horns. The strings were
best displaying their pluck but, often, the symphony didn't have the
power we associate with Brahms. Too long (considering what the musicians
did with it), it was anticlimactic following Chase's work and the showy
(but lesser-known) Lalo.
Following something that rousing with a forgettable Brahms is a bit like
herding a tour group back on the bus after it's had a five-course meal.
Good luck.
San Francisco Chronicle
Bold ideas from a candidate to lead New Century
REVIEW
Bold ideas from a candidate
to lead New Century
Joshua Kosman, Chronicle Music Critic Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Concerts by the New Century Chamber Orchestra are among the Bay Area's
most reliable musical bets, a sure source of lively and skilled ensemble
playing. But add in the kind of smart, imaginative programming heard
during the group's most recent outing and you've got a recipe for true
excellence.
As the current season finds
this string orchestra in the market for a new concertmaster and artistic
director to succeed Krista Bennion Feeney, violinist Stephanie Chase --
the second of four impressive-looking candidates to take the stage --
came up with what is surely the season's most dazzling program.
Not only did she include an
engaging world premiere by Jorge Liderman, but she also went far outside
the tried-and-true in assembling the rest of the lineup. In introducing
pieces by Bruch and Hindemith, Chase kept coming back to some variation
of "I was not aware of this piece until ... " which probably mirrored
the experience (or lack of it) of most listeners.
And so Saturday's terrific
concert at the Florence Gould Theater in the California Palace of the
Legion of Honor was both a virtuoso chamber display and a voyage of
discovery.
Naturally, the newest
discovery was "Rolling Strings," Liderman's 15-minute commission for the
orchestra. Writing with a wonderful blend of simplicity and rhetorical
unpredictability, Liderman sets up a few clear rhythmic processes -- a
stream of eighth notes dancing in groups of twos and threes, some
whirling melodic turns -- and lets the mechanism unfold before our ears.
The piece is a rondo of
sorts, with a pair of main themes that recur to mark the chief
structural points, and just as in a rondo by Mozart or Beethoven,
Liderman delights in throwing in contrasting episodes to keep the
listener off guard.
At midpoint, the strings
gather for a series of stubbornly expanding cadences; late in the
proceedings there are some spooky muted chords reminiscent of the
Tarnhelm music in Wagner's "Rheingold." All of it is bound together
through thematic repetitions and the steady rhythmic pulse, and the
orchestra played it with elegant fervor.
The remainder of the program
was nearly as revelatory. It opened with Bruch's "Serenade on Swedish
Melodies," a charming entertainment that should be on the repertoire
list of every string orchestra. Framed by a matching pair of marches,
Bruch rolls out a lovely trio of tunes -- by turns lyrical, bumptious
and yearning -- and treats them with loving tenderness.
After intermission came
Hindemith's "The Four Temperaments," a quasi-piano concerto written in
1940 for George Balanchine's famous ballet. This is the composer in his
most brittle, elegant vein, subjecting an evocative theme to a series of
variations suggestive of different psychological characters.
The superb soloist (who had
suggested the piece to Chase in the first place) was William Wolfram,
playing with steely precision and a nimble virtuosity that brought out
all the music's intricacy. Yet, there was sweetness and wit in the
performance as well.
E-mail Joshua Kosman at
jkosman@sfchronicle.com.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Newly united string players provide a lush performance
Newly united
string players provide a lush performance
Last updated May 18,
2007 4:02 p.m. PT
By PHILIPPA KIRALY
SPECIAL TO THE P-I
Put 15 string players at the top of their
profession in one chamber group and what do you get? The answer is a
remarkable sound if the group is The American String Project, which
opened its sixth season Wednesday.
What struck the ear
immediately was the warmth of that sound in Nordstrom Recital Hall's
uncompromising acoustics: strong, rich, resonant and smooth, luscious to
hear and appropriate to the works performed. Only in Schubert's "Death
and the Maiden" Quartet did loud top notes sound shrill.
All works played by TASP
are string quartets in arrangement for string chamber ensemble.
Co-founder and co-artistic director Barry Lieberman, a double bassist,
did these thoughtful adaptations, making no secret of his own yearning
to play some of the wonderful literature in which his instrument is left
out.
Each work is led by a
different violinist in the unconducted, democratic ensemble, and for the
U.S. premiere of Bottesini's "Quartetto in Re," this was Eriko Sato. The
"Quartetto" is a romantic piece, still with the crisp cleanliness of
classical style. TASP's performance emphasized this and gave it glowing
vitality with relaxed, singing tone, especially in the second movement.
Stephanie Chase led the
heart of the program, Grieg's big "String Quartet No. 1 in G Minor."
Composed a scant generation after the Bottesini, it's years away in its
full embrace of romanticism.
The writing is dense, and
in Lieberman's arrangement, just the principals played at times, giving
a change in balance and color. Violinist Carol Sindell, violist Toby
Appel and cellist Julie Albers joined Chase for these sections, which
show off some of Grieg's lovely writing for viola and cello. Playing was
so expressive that at the end of the second movement, total silence
reigned for a long moment before audience rustling began.
Ani Kavafian led the
Schubert, which suffered in places from a more aggressive approach than
seemed right for a work written in 1824. There was some hacking by the
violins, and a last movement that sounded overheavy and earnest.
Nevertheless, Lieberman's addition of double bass really added to the
work, in the first movement particularly, and the variations movement,
where solo quartet and full ensemble alternated, was a joy.
All evening, ensemble
work was a pleasure to hear, the group sounding as though members had
been playing together forever, not just a week.
"CHASE, UN ARCHETTO
DE TRIONFO" ("Chase, A Triumphant Bow") Headline of review - La
Provincia, Pavia, Italy
“Chase’s
interpretation of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto was one of the best I
have ever heard, live or recorded.” -
Portland Press Herald
“She
played always with firm control, a fine sense of the music’s subtle
shadings and above all the vigor and the large gestures it often
demands."
- Washington
Post
“A
deeply poetic account of the Sibelius Violin Concerto by Stephanie
Chase.” -
Chicago Tribune
“Stephanie Chase
is making her name on sheer artistry … no violinist plays more truly or
musically than Chase.” - San Francisco Chronicle
“Chase’s playing was sweet and exquisite.” - Chicago Tribune
“A supreme musical
performer whose complete virtuosity enables her to ennoble everything
she plays.” - Byron Belt, Newhouse Newspapers
“This
showpiece (Tchaikovsky Concerto) is rarely performed as beautifully as
it was by Stephanie Chase. Chase found ways to transcend the score (and)
her liberties were poignant and meaningful. Not extroverted, and
technically flawless, Chase’s playing often bordered on recklessness and
passionate abandon.” - The Tennessean
“Stephanie Chase
played with fire, sensitivity, impeccable intonation, and a wonderfully
steady and flexible bow arm that made the violin part sound like a vocal
line.”- Boston Globe
“Chase deserves the acclaim… she gave an unaffected, beautiful
performance with a variety and clarity of tone that projected
effortlessly. It commanded the normally violin-absorbent hall.” -
San Francisco Chronicle
“The American
violinist conquered the work’s many technical hurdles as authoritatively
as she illuminated its generous lyric outpourings.” - Los Angeles
Times
“Chase makes each work a new musical journey, riveting the audience’s
attention from beginning to end.” - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Her performance
of the Haydn Concerto was a rare moment in which a soloist’s manner of
playing seemed destined for that particular style and type of music. The
brightness of her sound, its projection into the hall, and the stylish
handling of elegant but highly ornate music fit the Haydn work
perfectly.” - Houston Chronicle
“A
stunning violinist...Chase nailed it—she performed with great
concentration, power and expression. A splendid reading.” - Edmonton
Journal
“This probably will be the orchestra's most tuneful program of the
season - and highlighted by the brilliance of guest violinist Stephanie
Chase, who performed Jan Sibelius' exquisite Violin Concerto. Chase is
a virtuoso. She's the whole package - attractive, technically proficient
and an interpreter of emotions. Chase's interpretation of the poignantly
melodic second movement - an adagio - had this listener on the edge of
his seat as the final note softly disappeared.
Chase was brilliant, and it doesn't hurt that she plays with flair,
too.” - The Shreveport Times
“She
played (the Sibelius Violin Concerto) always with firm control, a fine
sense of the music’s subtle shadings and above all the vigor and the
large gestures it often demands.” - The Washington Post
“To Die For!” -
Stereophile
Click here to listen to a longer excerpt
“Rich, passionate
tone, dead-true intonation throughout, and virtuosity galore.” -
Gramophone
“Chase’s interpretation of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, which earned
her and the orchestra a long standing ovation, was one of the best I
have ever heard, live or recorded... Chase has an indescribable quality
on stage. She is like a great actress, with such presence that by
speaking softly, she can make the audience hang on every syllable...The
cadenzas were simply stupendous, both in composition and execution. “ -
Portland Press Herald
“Exceptional
security of technique and bow control, married to a supreme inner
radiance.” - Performance Today, NPR
“...a
deeply poetic account of the (Sibelius) Concerto by Stephanie Chase,
(who) poured out the impassioned northern lyricism on a spacious scale,
holding enough throbbing tone and gutsy bravura in reserve for the
extroverted passages.” - Chicago Tribune
“The soloist was
the superb violinist Stephanie Chase, who played with elegance,
dexterity, rhythmic vitality and great imagination. This was a Classical
performance in the best sense: clear-headed, straightforward,
intelligent.” - Boston Globe
“The
fleet, intense performance was enhanced by Chase’s silvery tone and
superb articulation.” - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“I’ve never
thought of Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto as an especially scintillating
(programming) choice. But then I’d never heard Stephanie Chase’s way
with his music. Yesterday she played the concerto. No, let me correct
that. As Rachmaninoff famously described Vladimir Horowitz’s account of
his Third Piano Concerto, she swallowed it whole. Collaborating with
Uriel Segal in one of the repertoire’s biggest, most demanding works,
Chase turned in an account that was equally gigantic. This was an
explosive, 1,200-horsepower performance, and if you think I’ve succumbed
to end-of-season giddiness—well, you’d best be in the Brown Theatre
tomorrow night to hear for yourselves...Chase, whose memory for scoring
detail was remarkable, understood how to apply degrees of portamento
and rubato, or how to make an upbow dynamic sound completely
different from its downbow counterpart. Her playing matched the scale
and soul of the music, not approximately, but precisely.” -
Courier-Journal (Louisville)
“A
warm and virtuosic performance by the outstanding artist Stephanie
Chase.” - Seattle Times
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