“Friday’s performance reinforced the marvellous talent of violinist Stephen Sitarski, alternating his pure sweetness of tone – lovely, supple and deliciously sweet- with the more steely and muscular demands of rapid arpeggios, cadenzas, and orchestral lead.”
-Kitchener Record 2010 (Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Cello with Thomas Wiebe)
“Kudos to…Canadian violinist Stephen Sitarski – this modernist work is not easy to play…”
-Globe and Mail 2011 (Desyatnikov’s “Russian Seasons” with the National Ballet of Canada)
“Also worthy of praise were the 26 musicians from the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, led by concertmaster and principal violin Stephen Sitarski, who nearly fell off his chair with this highly energetic playing.”
-Kitchener Record 2011 (Handel’s “Messiah”)
“(Martin) Beaver and Sitarski put together an exciting performance that was all the more remarkable for drawing the listener’s attention away from the absence of lower voices. It was idiomatic and assured in every way. The equal emphases the two violinists gave to its sweet and melodic elements and its moments of trenchant animation were particularly instrumental in the fine impression that they made of the work.”
-Ottawa Citizen 2003 (Prokofiev Sonata for Two Violins)
“Sitarski’s elegant obbligato phrasings, impeccable lyricism, and awesome technical musicality were perfect here and throughout the evening.”
-Kitchener Record 2002 (Handel’s “Messiah”)
“How much more exquisite can this piece be, with Sitarski, in the second movement, balancing elaborated, figurated, embroidered phrases with the nobility and tact Beethoven intended? And there was such visceral bounce in the final Allegro to promote the … house to stand and clap at length.”
-Kitchener Record 2002 (Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin)
“…concertmaster Stephen Sitarski deserves his own kudos for his mini-lecture-demonstration and solo performance in Vivaldi’s Winter segment (from the Four Seasons). We all know Sitarski is a terrific artist in so many styles. Yet he never ceases to astonish listeners, as he did in the Vivaldi classic and throughout the concert, with his technical and interpretive prowess.”
-Kitchener Record 2001 (Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”)