Lara St. John's latest CD, Re: Bach, is gathering a mix of rave and not-so-rave reviews.
But it's the bad ones she finds oddly satisfying.
"I thought that would happen and it's fascinating to watch," she says during a phone interview this week. "Classic reviewers are not into it. Other people are like, 'I've never liked classical before but I like this.' "
ON A MISSION
St. John, in concert with L'orchestre de la Francophonie canadienne at the National Arts Centre tonight, is on a bit of a mission to bring classical music to the masses.
She travelled to London, England last year to make the innovative Re: Bach with producer Magnus Fiennes (middle brother to British actors Ralph and Joseph). The multi-track recording features the work of about 50 international artists and infuses 15 of the composer's pieces with world music, jazz and pop flavour in an effort to make them more palatable to modern tastes.
"I really just looked around at my generation," she says. "I just thought, 'there's no way you're going to get the average person to walk into a record store and buy Concerto No. 23.' "
Born 30 years ago in London, Ont., and now based in New York City, St. John began playing the violin at age two and gave her first orchestra performance at five. Described as a passionate, self-assured, highly intelligent and determined prodigy who later studied in England and has played on stages around the world, St. John has earned reviews from weighty critics praising her "brilliant ferocity" and "superb technique."
She shocked the classical world with her debut CD, Bach Works for Violin Solo. The release featured her sans clothes on the cover, shielded only by her violin, and sold an accomplished 30,000-plus copies.
Two more efforts followed, a selection of exotic nomad pieces dubbed Gypsy and the more traditional Bach, The Concerto Album, which remains the sole release from St. John's own record label. Re: Bach is the first offering from her deal with Sony Classical.
Tickets for tonight's show are free and available at the NAC box-office.
