quotes
a short selection of nice things other people have said over the years…
The Sydney Morning Herald 20 May 2009
“Lacey is an inspiring performer who lights up the stage with her fevered cascades of notes and soulful lyricism. … It was in the largo that Lacey’s transparent tone came into its own floating sybaritically over the pizzicato accompaniment. Next stop Spring with an extended outbreak of birdsong miraculously flooding out from Lacey’s fingers.” Harriet Cunningham
The Australian 19 May 2009
“This was a bravura performance from a consummate artist. Rapid runs and figurations were executed with thrilling agility and astonishing clarity of articulation. In slower movements, her elegant phrasing and finely graded dynamics created moments of hushed intensity. Throughout, Lacey sustained splendid breath control and refined timbre, radiating burnished warmth on the lower-pitched instruments and gleaming purity from the higher-pitched ones. She tastefully ornamented her solo lines, and her fluttering trills realised the avian character of the first movement of Spring.” Murray Black
Australian Stage Online 5 April 2009
“The last work, ‘Three Landscapes’, finally allowed Lacey to display her virtuosic talent; her instruments (which ranged from a tiny sopranino recorder to a clunky-looking contrabass) seemed to be extensions of her own body which sang with passion, delicacy and sensitivity. The small and much-maligned recorder finally comes into its own when Lacey plays, and her technical brilliance is never reduced to virtuosity for virtuosity’s sake, but remains entirely natural and meaningful.” Rachel Orzech
The Age 16 January 2008
“the night’s most moving moment came in the simple, fluttering poetry of Lacey’s version of Jacob Van Eyck’s Engels Nachtegaeltje. In one of the more familiar works played, the performer’s ability to make her own dexterity appear effortless and the care she dealt out to every note in this solo’s rich structure ensured the festival began with a touch of magic.” Clive O’Connell
West Australian 9 November 2007
“Telemann’s Recorder Concerto in C showed Lacey’s warm tone on the gentle treble recorder. Her marvelous breath control and articulation made joyful work of Telemann’s cascading runs and infused the slow movement with aching sorrow. … The concert was delivered with a confident élan that made the outrageous versatility and virtuosity appear normal.” Rosalind Appelby
The Sydney Morning Herald 1 December 2006
“Genevieve Lacey swoops from stratospheric sopranino to low hovering bass recorders with ease, perfection and grace. In her company, the program soars to dizzying heights, carrying the audience aloft on wings of song to delight the ear and beguile the soul.” David Vance
The Sydney Morning Herald 28 November 28 2006
“Genevieve Lacey’s superlative playing of almost every instrument of the recorder family was a matter of sheer, unforced delight.” Roger Covell
Music Forum May-July 2005 Vol. 11-No. 3
“The final pair of pieces, songs by Hildegard von Bingen, receive exquisitely simple treatment … both are entrancing, with subtle nuances or ornament, rhythm, intonation and articulation illuminating the pure, floating melody. There has always been something otherworldly about Genevieve’s playing, and this repertoire brings it to the fore. There is no overt display of virtuosity here, just beautifully expressive playing which transcends technique.” Malcolm Tattersall
Sunday Telegraph 21 March 2004
“Genevieve Lacey would be a superstar if she had chosen to champion an instrument more fashionable than the recorder. As it is, she’s still able to walk the streets unmolested. But you have to suspect that she will be single-handedly responsible for a resurgence of interest in that much-maligned “school” instrument.” D. Simonds
Adelaide Advertiser 24 May 2003
“… Genevieve Lacey is a virtuoso of the recorder… she is living, breathing proof that specialists need only apply. The technique is frankly superhuman, the musicianship supreme.” E. Silsbury
The Australian 17 May 2002
“… Genevieve Lacey shows just how it is done – beautiful sound, clear pitch and a musical intelligence that is unswerving…” Hilary Shrubb
The Guardian 3 September 2001
“Best of all was Vivaldi’s C Major Recorder Concerto, played by Genevieve Lacey with a combination of sensuality, wit and mind boggling flamboyance.” T. Ashley