Selected Reviews
 

Judith Linsenberg, darting with birdlike agility among half a dozen recorders, took the lead for much of the afternoon. [She] has a robust, throaty and beautifully supported tone, and fingers even the most daunting passages with ease. She particularly shone in an early Jacobean masque, negotiating its head-over-heels shifts of color, rhythm and tempo with nonchalant style and wit." - Washington Post, January, 2007

"Recorder player Judith Linsenberg displayed dazzling virtuosity and great sensitivity across the repertory." - SF Classical Voice, January, 2007

"Judith Linsenberg's soprano recorder got a serious workout in Sammartini's Concerto in F major.  The concerto features extensive finger- and tongue-twisting passagework.  Linsenberg's fingers were but a blur at moments.  Her intensity of presence and absolute command of the instrument were a pleasure to experience." 
 -- San Francisco Classical Voice,  November 2004.

"Linsenberg was dazzling . . . she made the music dance and sparkle." -- Houston Chronicle, April 14, 2003

"The highlight among the soloists was Judith Linsenberg performing Francesco Maria Veracini's Sonata Sesta in A minor. . ., a true showpiece.  Linsenberg demonstrated her mastery of the instrument with absolute control of intonation, articulation and rhythm. The combination of nimble lips and fingers provided a truly memorable rendition."  -- Palm Beach Daily News, January 14, 2005

"Cantata No. 182 was performed by a brilliant combination of singers and musicians, punctuated with the stunning recorder playing of Judith Linsenberg as she surmounted the piece's vicious intervals and rapid runs." 
-- Sacramento Bee, January  26, 2005

"Recorder-player Judith Linsenberg gives a virtuosic performance of [Vivaldi's] early E minor sonata, RV16; the giga movement is impressive for its long-breathed, elegantly shaped phrases. "
--Gramophone, September 2003

". . . there are some really stellar recorder passages." -- American Record Guide, September/October 2003

"Judith Linsenberg is a highly gifted musician with a definite technical flair.  Musica Pacifica's latest disc - Vivaldi: La Notte - is a tremendous showcase for [her].  .  . This is highly expressive recorder playing with creatively judged ornamentation, phrasing, and articulation."
-- The Recorder Magazine (UK), Spring 2004

"[An] established virtuoso . . . Linsenberg plays recorder with extraordinary speed and wealth of nuance. .  . Marvelous playing." -- Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity; www.hometheaterhifi.com, June 2003

"Judith  Linsenberg’s performance of Mancini’s Concerto 14 in G minor highlighted her immense virtuosity. . . In the US premiere of Vivaldi’s Concerto RV312R, [she gave] a jaw-dropping performance; the wonderment was her astonishing precision and breath control.” -- Beverly Hills Outlook, April 2002

"Vivaldi's Recorder Concerto in G major offered an example of virtuosity . . . Judith Linsenberg played the leaping, wayward solo part with an infectious verve." --Seattle Weekly, October 2002

" . . . a first-class soloist, Judith Linsenberg is a woman with very quick fingers, who gave a felicitous account of Vivaldi's Recorder Concerto in G major."  -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 28, 2002

"Special praise goes to recorder player Judith Linsenberg and violinist Elizabeth Blumenstock.  The superbly elegant music-making of these two artists exemplifies the finest in historical performance today." 
--Early Music America, Spring 2002

"Playing with virtuosic clarity [in the Scarlatti], Linsenberg's stamina is unflagging.  She is a joy to hear and unremittingly passionate in her endeavors to bring us these pure Baroque sounds."
-- Beverly Hills Outlook, May 2002

"The evening’s virtuosic instrumentalist was Judith Linsenberg, who played fearlessly.  Many times she was on the edge of the recorder’s capabilities...”  -- San Francisco Classical Voice, September 8, 2001

"Linsenberg's rich and vigorous recorder--so accurate in pitch and extraordinary in virtuosic agility . . . made for a highly satisfying concert."  -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 15, 2001

"The recorder playing of Judith Linsenberg is deft and stylish and does not resort to unnecessary mannerisms but lets the flow of Scarlatti's musical invention happen unhindered.  [She plays] with considerable elegance."
-- The Recorder Magazine [UK], Summer 2000

"The standout among the local groups--indeed, perhaps of the entire [Berkeley Early Music] festival--was the chamber group Musica Pacifica, in a superb concert of Neapolitan Baroque works.  The group's leader, recorder player Judith Linsenberg, combined masterly control with risk-taking spontaneity---the latter being just what this music needs."   -- Early Music, February 1999

 “If the Pied Piper of Hamelin played [the recorder] with the virtuosity shown by Judith Linsenberg with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra Friday night, it’s no wonder he beguiled the children to follow him . . . Giuseppe Sammartini’s Concerto in F major [was] a delightful work, and a great vehicle for the soloist.  Linsenberg’s recorder bubbled, sweet and effortless-sounding, in virtuoso outer movements.  But it was the beautiful slow movement, with her expressive playing and imaginative ornamentation, that was the heart of the piece.”   -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 4, 1998

“Judith Linsenberg [delivered] a driving, pulsing performance of a Bach sonata, concluding with Telemann’s Concert VI in A minor, whose final Allegro assai, with its devilish descending passages, was stunning.”
-- American Recorder, Sept. 1998

“Judith Linsenberg’s recorder offered shimmering tone and alacrity.”
 -- Philadelphia Inquirer, September 30, 1998

“Judith Linsenberg is simply ravishing on recorder.  Her passagework is superb, technically flawless, but never lifeless, and the slow movements are lusciously indulgent, without being cloying. “
-- Boston Early Music News, May 15, 1998

"In Linsenberg's transcriptions, everything is exactly the way it should be, and the playing just couldn't be better." -- American Record Guide, Jan/Feb 1997

"Linsenberg's playing is flawless--spirited, clear, beautifully shaped and articulated through the whole range of the instrument."  -- Fanfare Magazine, Nov/Dec 1996

"[In] an admirably fresh set of performances from Musica Pacifica (an excellent period-instrument group), . . . Judith Linsenberg leads her colleagues in sparkling allegros and appealingly melancholic slow movements." -- Gramophone, Sept. 1996

"Judith Linsenberg’s transcriptions of Bach organ sonatas may actually improve on the original!
 . . . Throughout, Linsenberg's playing is vibrant and enlivened." -- American Recorder, September 1996

“Each proved to be a virtuoso. . . Linsenberg has breath control that an Olympic swimmer would envy, and her playing was controlled and elegant.” - Washington Post, Jan. 17, 1996
 
“Linsenberg’s lightning flourishes were executed with elegance.”
                            - Philadelphia Inquirer, January 16, 1996

“Linsenberg’s work in the Bach trio sonata was noteworthy for both its brilliance in passagework and eloquence in lyricism.” - Chestnut Hill Local [Philadelphia], January 18, 1996

“Perhaps the musical climax of the two-day event occurred when Judith Linsenberg showed up with her constellation of early music stars known as Musica Pacifica.  Linsenberg treated the audience to scintillating performances of music from 17th-century Italy and the Baroque.”
                            - American Recorder, September 1995