BPO returns to Artpark with world-class talent
Highly touted violinist St. John highlights first weekend

Preview by Joshua Maloni
Niagara Frontier Publications, June 28, 2007

World renowned violinist Lara St. John performs at 8 p.m. on
Saturday at Artpark in Lewiston. (photo by Off Broadway Photo)

For three years, we’ve been living under a rock.

Unbeknownst to most of us, judging from ticket sales, some of the today’s most talented classical musicians have performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra – itself an acclaimed ensemble – during the summer season at Artpark. They were right under our noses, and we didn’t notice.

More than 190,000 people attended an event at the Lewiston venue last year, but, by and large, those individuals came to see a “Tuesday in the Park” concert.

There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Artpark President George Osborne selected highly entertaining, crowd-pleasing rock, blues and pop acts. However, neither Jon Secada nor 38 Special will be remembered as pioneering their craft akin to ’06 BPO headliners Joshua Bell, a violinist, and pianist Xu Duo.

We missed the boat.

Fortunately, there is a fourth season of BPO concerts at Artpark this month. “Summerfest” begins this weekend with “Holst’s The Planets” on Saturday and “Gershwin’s Greatest Hits” on Sunday. The former features Lara St. John, one of the world’s foremost violinists. Pianist Kevin Cole, this generation’s unquestioned Gershwin interpreter, highlights the latter.

“We try to bring artists, works, that are well known, so that people won’t be afraid to come,” says BPO Associate Executive Director Steven M. Baker. “We’re trying to build a new audience. … It takes time, like anything else.”

Having sold more than 50,000 albums, St. John is one of classical music’s most successful musicians – though perhaps not its poster girl.

If your imagining of a classically trained violinist is a stodgy, white-collared, middle-aged man, you’re probably not alone – and you’re probably not wrong in your thinking.

St. John, though, couldn’t be more opposite. While the artist’s performances embody all that’s great about classic music – its power, presentation and romance – the 30-something herself is stylistically edgy; a quirky Canadian who defies stereotypes associated with her genre of music.

“I don’t think classical music has taken any kind of innovative marketing,” St. John said Saturday by phone from Palo Alto, Calif. Misconceptions about the music, and its artists, have been solidified by unexciting packaging. “That doesn’t make someone in their 20s want to jump into it,” she says.

St. John, whose chief objective is to deliver quality music, packaged herself differently when she released “Bach: Works for Violin Solo,” “Gypsy” and “Bach: the Concerto Album.” In short, she dressed herself seductively – though not to the level of a Madonna or Christina Aguilera. It was St. John’s way of breaking from the norm.

“A lot of stuff has just come by instinct,” she says.

Though the album jacket was subject to criticism, the content of the disc it contained was beyond reproach and well received by classic music critics.

“Eventually, everybody takes me seriously,” St. John says.

As to her performance at Artpark, a presentation of the “Sibelius Concerto” paired with the BPO’s rendering of “Holst’s,” she says it’s “a nice combo.”

Her arrangement, wherein she’ll use a donated “Salabue” Guadagnini violin – circa 1779 – will “be a very romantic concert. It’s a very passionate, sort of deep work.”

“It’s impossible not to love,” St. John says.

In comparing classical and pop music, she says, “(Pop music) is more accessible because it’s easier to listen to. (But) pop music, it’s only five minutes. This stuff is forever.”

The BPO will offer an assortment of musical styles at Artpark this month, including a performance by The Kingston Trio; its presentation of “Beethoven’s Ninth”; “An Evening with Neglia Ballet”; NPR’s “From the Top”; and the program “Argentine Tango.”

Baker says music lovers have a lot to look forward to with “Summerfest.”

“These shows are well-presented; it’s at a venue that’s more relaxed and casual,” he says. “(People) can bring their family – it’s just a different atmosphere” compared to the BPO’s home at Kleinhan’s Music Hall in Buffalo.

“It’s very open and inviting,” Baker says of Artpark.

For a complete schedule of events, visit www.bpo.org or www.artpark.net.