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Reviews
Caprice by Henry WieniawskiStephanie Chase
00:00 / 02:06

"Rich, passionate tone, deadtrue intonation throughout, and virtuosity galore." - Gramophone

 

"CLASSICAL ACT OF THE DECADE. Stephanie Chase delivers, with the Louisville Orchestra, a sensational account of Edward Elgar's Violin Concerto. The Elgar is among a handful of the most demanding works in the standard concerto repertoire, and Chase's account takes a challenge and turns it into a privilege." - Courier-Times (Louisville)

 

“Chase deserves the acclaim… she gave an unaffected, beautiful performance with a variety and clarity of tone that projected effortlessly. It commanded the hall.” - San Francisco Chronicle

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“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

 

“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

 

“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

 

“A supreme musical performer whose complete virtuosity enables her to ennoble everything she plays.” – Byron Belt, Newhouse Newspapers

 

"Refreshingly stylish…(Chase) makes each work a new musical journey, riveting the audience’s attention from beginning to end.”- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

 

“The fleet, intense performance was enhanced by Chase’s silvery tone and superb articulation.” - Minneapolis Star-Tribune

 

“The American violinist conquered the work’s many technical hurdles as authoritatively as she illuminated its generous lyric outpourings.”– Los Angeles Times

 

“Stephanie Chase is making her name on sheer artistry … no violinist plays more truly or musically than Chase.” - San Francisco Chronicle

 

“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

 

“Stephanie Chase has a great sense of style, matchless technique and flawless intonation.” – BBC Music Magazine

 

“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“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

 

“Chase’s playing was sweet and exquisite.” - Chicago Tribune

 

“Exceptional security of technique and bow control, married to a supreme inner radiance.” – Performance Today, National Public Radio

 

“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

 

“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

 

“A stunning violinist...Chase nailed it—she performed with great concentration, power and expression. A splendid reading.” - Edmonton Journal

 

An Intimate Concert, With Original Instruments

"The fine violinist Stephanie Chase was an elegant soloist in Beethoven’s beguiling Romance in F for violin and orchestra."— Anthony Tommasini, New York Times

 

“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

 

“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. The Sibelius is so easy to like. One appreciates the heightened lyricism and the built-in difficulty of this work, which makes great demands on the violinist. Chase was brilliant, and it doesn't hurt that she plays with flair, too.” - The Shreveport Times

 

"Beethoven’s concerto is a classical gem, an opportunity for performers and audience to revel in the glories of balance and restraint. Some try to make it into a Romantic display of dazzling violin technique, but that’s not what’s going on here. And the piece found its ideal interpreter in Stephanie Chase."— Jim Ruggirello, Gazettes.com

 

"Stephanie, desde el refugio de una turbadora destreza, fue guardiana de las ideas del autor sobre las estaciones, según los famosos sonetos de clarificación y guía. Vivaz en el tiempo de los amores renacidos, cálida en las páginas del estío, otoñalmente melancólica y dulce entre la solitaria reflexión invernal. Suma de asombros: digitacion, emotividad, pureza ritmica."— Jorge Alvarez Rendon, Diaria de Yucatan

 

Music of the Spheres Society Presents "Iconoclasts of the Early 20th Century"

"Stephanie Chase’s Prokofiev Sonata for violin solo exuded mastery and dynamism" - Roberta Zlokower, RobertaOnTheArts.com

 

Festival musicians play with subtlety and emotion

"Chase, a versatile player comfortable in modern and period styles with an impressive background as soloist with major orchestras, opened this sonata with a warmly nuanced statement of the wistful and leisurely theme."— Henry Duckworth, Cape Cod Times

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