Stephanie Chase
Violin
Soloist
"One of the violin greats of our era" (Newhouse Newpapers), Stephanie Chase is a remarkably versatile musician who excels in the virtuoso soloist's repertoire, period instrument practice, contemporary music, chamber music, and music education.
As soloist with the world's most eminent orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, London Symphony and New York Philharmonic, her playing is widely acclaimed for its "elegance, dexterity, rhythmic vitality and great imagination" (Boston Globe).
Her recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, the first ever on period instruments, has been declared "one of the twenty most outstanding performances in the work's recorded history" (Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Cambridge University Press) and honored with the highest possible ratings by BBC Music Magazine and Classic CD. She was featured with the American Classical Orchestra, playing Mozart's Concerto No. 3 on period violin, as part of the New York Early Music Celebration in October 2004.
Recordings by Ms. Chase have been selected by Stereophile as a Record to Die For and by Gramophone for its Hot List, and include three world premieres. Her diverse solo repertoire encompasses Bach and Vivaldi to Bernstein and Zwilich and includes over sixty concerti and major works for violin and orchestra.
Born in Illinois to musician parents, Stephanie Chase gave her first public appearance at age two. At age eight, she made her debut with the Chicago Symphony as the youngest winner ever of the orchestra's Youth Competition. Ms. Chase's first violin teacher was her mother, Fannie Chase, followed by studies in New York with Sally Thomas. As a teenager, she embarked on extensive national tours as a soloist and recitalist. Making her Carnegie Hall debut at age eighteen, shortly thereafter she became a pupil of the legendary Belgian violinist Arthur Grumiaux, which was followed by summer chamber music studies at the famed Marlboro Festival with many of the 20th century's most prominent musicians.
Ms. Chase's triumphant win at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow led to performances throughout the world as soloist with international orchestras and the award of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1987. Also renowned as a chamber musician, Stephanie Chase was a member of the Boston Chamber Music Society for fifteen years and toured internationally with the group, and she is featured on several recordings made by the Society of diverse repertoire. As a recitalist, she has performed throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. Her other chamber music appearances include concerts in Alice Tully Hall, the Metropolitan Museum, 92nd Street Y, Bargemusic, and festivals including Caramoor, Marlboro, Seattle Chamber Music, Sommerfest (sponsored by the Minnesota Orchestra) and Kuhmo (Finland).
Ms. Chase is a co-founder and Artistic Director of the Music of the Spheres Society, which presents chamber music concerts and lectures that explore the links between music, philosophy and the sciences.
As a conductor, Stephanie Chase made her debut in January 2002 with the Symphony by the Sea (Marblehead, MA) and was immediately re-engaged. Her New York City conducting debut took place in January 2003 in a program that included Schoenberg's Kammersymphonie No. 1 and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.
Most recently, Ms. Chase has added music arrangement to her list of accomplishments. A Fantasy about Carmen, a work for string quintet that was inspired by Sarasate's virtuoso Carmen Fantasy for violin and orchestra, premiered to great acclaim at a Music of the Spheres Society concert in October 2004.