Violinist Rachel Lee Priday to perform at Lyrica concert

Violinist Rachel Lee Priday likes to be close to her audience so that her performances have an almost tactile impact.

That kind of playing is suited to intimate venues, such as Mondo in Summit where she’ll play a remarkable and inspiring program of solo violin pieces by Bach, Ysaye, Paganini and Kreisler on Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. as part of the Lyrica Chamber Music series.

At Mondo, located at 426 Springfield Avenue, listeners are only a few feet from the performers and the music is felt almost as much as it is heard.

“If you’re playing a solo instrument, being up close makes it very exciting for the audience, and makes the experience really powerful,” Priday says.

In big halls, Priday says, she feels as though the soloist is being placed on a pedestal. In smaller spaces, it’s as though the audience is watching her practice the Bach she plays every day at home.

So it’s natural that Priday will begin her Lyrica program with Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor. Its chaconne has been described as one of the greatest pieces ever written for solo violinist, and even as one of mankind’s finest accomplishments.

“Anytime I’m asked to play a solo recital, the first thing I think about is Bach,” Priday said. “The D-minor Partita is a meaty piece to start out with.”

Eugene Ysaye’s Sonata No. 5 in G major provides a contrast to the Bach, Priday says. The first movement is a depiction of a sunrise.

“Going from the dark of Bach’s D minor, it just changes to something bright,” Priday says.

The program will continue with the virtuosic fireworks of a Nicolo Paganini caprice and the charm of Fritz Kreisler’s Recitativo and Scherzo.

In demand as a solo performer, Priday has also collaborated with numerous orchestras around the United States. Her international career has taken her to the glittering halls of Europe as well as to venues in China, Singapore and Korea.

Even as a child, Priday was on the musical radar of New York City. The New Yorker magazine wrote about her when she was 11 and a student at Juilliard School. She had already made her orchestral debut at the Aspen Music Festival in 1997 at age 9.

She has only grown as an artist since then. The Baltimore Sun wrote of her playing: “What’s most impressive is that she is already an artist who can make the music sing … Her tone is voluptuous and sexy where it counts.”

“Not only did she pour out endless floods of ardent lyricism in the slow movement, but she also dispatched the finale’s whirling bravura with irresistible panache,” the Chicago Tribune said of her performance of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

Priday has a long-standing relationship with Lyrica’s artistic director, pianist David Kaplan. Together they commissioned a violin sonata from Pulitzer Prize finalist Christopher Cerrone and they perform together in recitals.

Lyrica currently celebrates its 30th season of bringing chamber music and artists of international stature to Morris County and adjoining areas.

“I think we do occupy a niche in presenting such high level concerts for such a small ticket price in the community,” Kaplan said.

Tickets are $20-$25. For more information about Lyrica Chamber Music, visit www.lyricachambermusic.org or call 973-309-1668.