RACHEL PODGER - PRESS QUOTES
“As well as the purity of the notes, capturing an ethereal beauty in the slow movements, the mercurial flow of the tempi was exhilarating.”
Bach Violin Concertos With Brecon Baroque, St Mary's Priory Church, Monmouth - Rian Evans, guardian.co.uk, 13 June 2011
“Podger has one of the sweetest tones of any period-instrument violinist”
JS Bach, Violin Concertos - Graham Rogers, BBC.co.uk, 30 November 2010
The English Concert at the Library of Congress, October 15, 2010
“…Rachel Podger held focus here with her silvery tone and commanding virtuosity, as she did in Vivaldi's "Il Grosso Mogul" Violin Concerto. Her harmonically exploratory, third movement cadenza sounded freshly composed on the spot, and her dreamy, exotically pitch-bent treatment of the concerto's slow movement proved an atmospheric delight.”
Joe Banno, The Washington Post, 18 October 2010
English Concert, Weill Recital Hall: “Period Works, Played With Freewheeling Touches”
“The English Concert’s performance at Weill Recital Hall on Wednesday evening had plenty to recommend it, not least Rachel Podger’s magnificent violin playing (…) On her own, Ms. Podger brought her rich tone and imaginative approach to phrasing and embellishment to an account of Vivaldi’s Concerto in D (…)Ms. Podger, gave a sizzling performance of Vivaldi’s Cello Concerto in C minor (RV 401).”
The new York Times, Allan Kozinn, 18 October 2010
Do It, England: The English Concert at the Library of Congress, October 15 2010
"...And violinist Rachel Podger made the trio sonata sound like a solo concerto, so magnetic was her playing. Previously I only knew Podger through her awesome recordings, but in a live concert she’s just as much a force of nature as on CD. (…) Podger played roughly when the music demanded it, phrased freely, and commanded about twenty times more interest.
Andrew Lindemann Malone, DMV Classical, 16 October 2010
Handel and Haydn Society, Symphony Hall, October 2010
Christophers then launched into a laudatory introduction of Rachel Podger, who would be the soloist for the Violin Concerto, No.5 – which turned out to be the highlight of the evening…Podger lived up to Christopher’s praise, and proved to be as witty with her audience as he said she had been in rehearsals. She plays not only with her head, hands, and heart, but also with her expressions and body language. Her direct gaze into the house drew everyone into her own enjoyment of her playing, which culminated in a highly-deserved standing ovation.”
Stephen Brophy, The Fenway News, 02 October 2010
CD: Haydn, Mozart. With Pavlo Beznosiuk, Age of Enlightenment. - Channel Classics 29309
"Podger astounds with her playing (…) (…) Arpeggios are beautifully even, the adagios richly toned. The outer movements are brim full of Haydn's good nature and the virtuoso aspects exquisitely played (…) (…) The soloists' years of experience playing together tell here, the ensemble between them faultless, and the timbres they achieve weave well together, too (…) (…) The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment contribute a splendid sound, rich and full. A release of the highest calibre!" Audiophile Audition (…) Everything about this is attractive."
American Record Guide, 2009
"Here is an artist whose musicality transcends technical difficulties and takes you straight to the heart of the music (...) (...) This is the best period-instrument Mozart I have heard to date. 5 star"
American Record Guide, 2009
"If any performer could convince us of their virtues, it is Rachel Podger, whose silver-tones, subtly nuanced 1739 Pesarinius violin and intent direction of the strings of the Orchestra find a genuine eloquence in the Adagio of the otherwise unremarkable G Major concerto (…)"
BBC Music Magazine, 2009
"Let me say first of all that the engineering on this disc is really splendid. From top to bottom this is a quality act. Having just sat through an indifferent recording of the same work from a conventional, modern, non-HIP set up, in which the basses congealed and curdled like porridge in a vat, it was a real pleasure to hear the spruce clarity but warmth of this recording. Back to the performances: Podger and Beznosiuk are fine players and estimable colleagues. I found their playing eloquent, technically accomplished, their sonorities blended finely, the unison passages were acutely judged, their interplay with the orchestra was similarly excellent (…)"
Music Web, 2009
"Of their type, these are mostly very good performances. Rachel Podger draws a generally sweet tone from her instrument despite the gut strings and period bow; she permits herself sufficient vibrato where necessary to give her timbre some body, and she's very ably accompanied by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. (…) Sonically, as so often from this label, the engineering is absolutely state of the art, and a joy all by itself. "
Classics Today, 2009
"The sound has a warm glow that enhances her standpoint that these works are not lightweight nonentities. She finds in them a largeness of scale within their modest proportions(…) Podger makes a strong case for Haydn’s concertos (…) "
Gramophone, 2009
CD: Arte Dei Suonatori - Vivaldi , La Stravaganza 12 Violin Concertos. - Channel Classics 19598
"What I like most of all is [Podger’s] evident relish of the virtuoso demands that the music makes: she rises splendidly to them, making the most of Vivaldi’s extravagant writing…This new recording is beyond question triumphantly successful"
Gramophone : Awards 2003
(…) Is like a breath of fresh air in every respect. This is one of the most immediately inviting multi-channel recordings I’ve heard, full of effortlessly crafted, tonally grateful detail and conveying a fine sense of an aptly scaled acoustic.
Gramophone, 2003
"The sound of both soloist and orchestra is rich, lively and clear textured. Podger responds to the extrovert, the lyrical, and the unexpected in Vivaldi and she is one of those great performers who passes on her enthusiasms to the listener. This, I'm sure, is what Vivaldi should sound like."
New Zealand Magazine, 2003
"(...) there are slow movements of sublime fantasy and hearth–rending beauty. It is here that soloist and director Rachel Podger makes her most distinctive and original contribution."
BBC Music Magazine, 2003
"Rachel Podger is one my favourite Baroque fiddler’s…the sense of creative interplay between solist and orchestra is palpable."
International Record Review, 2003
"The La Stravaganza set is quite extravagant stuff, full of fantasy and experiment – novel sounds, inginious textures, exploratory melodie lines, original types of figuration, unorthodox forms…the performances by Rachel Podger are crackling with vitality and executed with consistent brilliance…a performance to leave you breathless…she happiless catches the aristocratic tone of the invention."
Gramophone, 2003
"I was shocked to find myself listening to the whole lot in one sitting, merrily finding each piece to be its own vivid drama. And I have eagerly returned to them several times since…Rachel Podger and the Polish baroque orchestra Arte dei Suonatori prove worthy to the task, endlessly varying texture and attack to keep the listener on the edge of his or her seat…Superior recording, handsome presentation, in-depth notes from producer Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and from Rachel Podger herself, and performances that remind us why we became addicted to music in the first place, make this a truly formidable release, deserving of all the many awards it will receive. Somewhere, that red-haired priest Vivaldi…must be cackling with joy to hear his invention catch fire once again."
High Fidelity Magazine USA, 2003
"Podger tells a subtle musical story through clever tempo choices, remarkably well-tempered intonation and lots of fance right-hand articulation."
STRAD, 2003
CD: FLORILEGIUM: Bach - A Musical Offering. The Complete Instrumental Trio Sonatas - Channel Classics 14598
"This disc is a true musical offering from a gifted ensemble of young British-based early music players. They deliver expressively intuitive, compelling performances."
Music Week, 2003
"Whatever Florilegium play sounds precious. This recording is golden."
International Record Review, 2003
"This is a disc of great merit with cleanly phrased and articulated playing, and, importantly, a great sense of affect. Podger and Solomon form an excellent partnership that is more than ably supported by Yeadon and da Costa on the continuo line. (…) The playing is both warm and sumptuous, and well-polished performances from Florilegium make it a worthwhile purchase."
Music teachers (WWW), 2003
CD: Telemann – Twelve Fantasies for Violin Solo
"[Podger] dances her way easily and gracefully through the music…clean intonation, pleasingly resonant tone and a palpable sense of natural and spontaneous enjoyment."
Gramophone, 2002
"Podgers tone is warm and it is a manner of sensitive declamation that I find convincing and affecting."
BBC Music Magazine, 2002
"Podger certainly shows both the technique and the temper for these works, in carefull shaped and thoughtful performances."
American Record Guide, 2002
CD: Rameau – Pieces de clavecin en concerts
"(…) these are expertly wrought and carefully polished performances…These are unruffled, confident performances."
International Record Review, 2002
###"(…) they capture the spirit and style of the music perfectly in this recording. These are balanced and refreshing musical performances that will draw you back again and again to savour the gracefulness and the kaleidoscopic blending of instrumental colours they bring to the music." Gramophone, 2002
JS Bach – Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo (Vol 2)
"(...) Podger's infectious charm and unaffected musicianship are hard to resist."
BBC Music Magazine , 2000
"(…) Sonics are absolute superb…We will be hearing a lot more from and about this dramatically talented young Englishwoman."
Vida, Oregon, 2000
CD: JS Bach – Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord (complete)
"The two make a fine match. Both are uncomplicated, utterly instinctive musicians with a sure technical command and sound stylistic sense, and in works as robust and complete as these, that is most of the battle already won…music of a great poetry…Podger and Pinnock bring this out superbly…this natural beauty – two disc for the price of one – is, quite simply, the best yet."
Gramophone, 2000
CD: JS Bach – Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo (Vol 1)
"(…) deeply considered performances, highly accomplished in technical terms, and full of musical insights…Her variety of touch and phrasing, lending richness to the implied harmonies of Bach's lines, brings the disc to a satisfying conclusion."
BBC Music Magazine, 1998
"(...) an opportunity to hear her on her own…her subtle phrasing, as in the B minor Corrente, with the fleetest of doubles, the cross-rhythms of her G minor Presto and, most strikingly, the sheer poetic feeling with which she imbues the initial Adagio of the G minor Sonata. She touches in cord lightly…Her D minor Giga is stunning. Altogether a most impressive and rewarding disc."
Gramophone, 1998
"(…) Rachel Podger, playing baroque violin, brings the warmest, most embracing approach to this essential Bach…It’s a bit like a sensuous, warm bath."
The Weekly Australian, 1998