“

Violinist Jennifer Pike was the organiser of the whole project – the repertoire ranged from the baroque to the brand new and everything in between…The performance I saw was wonderful, consummately musical and full of moments of true beauty…Knapik is not a composer I had heard before, but he is certainly one I am eager to hear again (Partita for Violin and Piano). Pike played with both delicacy and heat in turns, revealing the shape of a luminous and wonderful work…I was astonished by the sheer beauty of this music at moments, and the performers managed to hold the whole audience spellbound through the wonderful mystery of this work. The concert finished with Chopin’s Piano Trio in G minor op. 8. The vigour of the opening Allegro was a shock to the system after the dreamlike world of the Knapik and the compelling simplicity of the Górecki…After my ears adjusted, I was in a better place to appreciate the brilliance of playing in the trio – Poster and Pike added cellist Guy Johnston to complete the trio. They made their way with a warmth and precision of playing, communicating easily as the work unfolded…the trio gave a beautiful performance of the work, finishing to a rightly deserved powerful applause.

Schmopera

Polish Music Day
14 October 2017

“

Yet I’ll remember Jennifer Pike’s mellow violin and the Philharmonia’s poise in Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending – a beautiful performance, this; chaste and thoughtful.

Geoff Brown, The Times

Philharmonia Orchestra
9 March 2016

“

A delightful trip to Poland with Jennifer Pike via the Wigmore Hall. Most music-lovers would be hard-pressed to name more than a handful of Polish composers, so one of the joys of Polish Music Day, presented by Jennifer Pike and Friends at Wigmore Hall, was the sheer scope of the programme…It was rewarding to hear Pike in Szymanowski’s Sonata for Violin and Piano and Karłowicz’s Impromptu, both impassioned early works that showed off her warm, quicksilver tone. With its dizzying harmonics, Wieniawski’s famous Polonaise No. 1 in D is often relegated to encore status, yet here Pike gave the music its full due in a bold, bravura performance. Chopin featured in his often overlooked chamber music guise, and Pike and Poster were joined by the cellist Guy Johnston to play his early Piano Trio in G minor with sweeping high spirits. Here the encore was Michał Ogiński’s celebrated Farewell to the Homeland Polonaise.

John Allison, Daily Telegraph

Polish Music Day, Jennifer Pike and friends
14 October 2017

“

A large audience at Shrewsbury Abbey was privileged to witness a remarkable performance of Elgar’s violin concerto by young violinist Jennifer Pike, accompanied by the Shrewsbury Symphony Orchestra under their charismatic conductor John Moore. As soon as she started, Jennifer had the full attention of the audience as her wonderfully rich tone soared across the Abbey.

We were transfixed by her calm authority and impressive technique as she quickly established a rapport with conductor and orchestra. In the second movement she was never dwarfed by the orchestra and this movement in particular demonstrated her ability to build and release musical tension with, seemingly, little effort. The final movement produced a scintillating display of violin pyrotechnics as the soloist coped admirably with the many technical challenges – bravura passage-work, dynamic contrasts, superb bow control and keen, yet unfussy, articulation were all admirable qualities in this performance, which culminated in a mesmerising cadenza. This was playing of the highest quality, and after prolonged and deserved applause she treated us to a Bach Sarabande as an encore.

Bob Wysome, shropshirelive.com

Elgar Violin Concerto, Shrewsbury SO
25 May 2016

“

Eschewing an overly flashy, self-interested performance which focused only on flair, Pike brought an elegant intelligence…Her playing was assured, bowing smooth and particularly nimble in her silver-toned reading of the firecracker third movement, where her accuracy couldn’t be faulted. An encore of the third movement of Ysaÿe’s Violin Sonata no. 2 in A minor, Op.27 no.2 was an unsurprisingly intelligent choice, with fine pizzicato and tonal clarity on display.

Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack

Bruch Violin Concerto, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
29 November 2016