Vondracek dazzles at Lake Forest - Chicago Tribune (July 03, 2002)

...The opportunity to hear two such gifted instrumentalists -violinist Jennifer Frautschi and pianist Lukas Vondracek - made the 45th season finale of the Lake Forest Symphony under music director Alan Heatherington a special event last weekend at Barat College in Lake Forest.

Prokofiev's First Piano Concerto is a glittery showpiece made to order for a young daredevil such as Vondracek. Looking as cherubic as a choirboy, he revealed his demonic side in a dazzling, high-speed chase that challenged the orchestra to keep up with him. Vondracek never sacrificed accuracy to velocity or dexterity. How this slightly built teenager got such a big, firmly centered sound had everyone gaping. He, too, is clearly destined to make the music world notice. The audience's ovbation was rewarded with a fire-breathing encore: Liszt's "Wilde Jagd" (Wild Hunt)

by John von Rhein

Tribune Music Critic

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