Ray Chen: Your Daily Tonic

“Ever woken up and felt the need to be gently but firmly guided into your zone?” asks violinist Ray Chen. “This is the answer: a curated classical music playlist that starts with you in bed, to making coffee, to commuting to work (even if your office is in the next room). Welcome to your daily tonic.” Some of the selections here are drawn from Chen’s own recordings, including two tracks from his album The Golden Age arranged by his cellist friend Stephan Koncz. Chen’s playing in Debussy’s “Clair de lune” is gossamer-delicate, while Koncz’s take on the beloved Australian ballad “Waltzing Matilda” suggests “feelings of adventure and fun spirit,” Chen enthuses. “As an Aussie, I feel so proud to have been a part of the inception of this piece.” Chen is also full of admiration for Max Richter’s re-working of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, a staple of the violin repertoire, and—for a very different take on similar subject matter—“Verano Porteño” (“Buenos Aires Summer”), from Astor Piazzólla’s Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (“The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”). Uniting every track here is the fuel these songs have provided for Chen over the years. “I've experienced most of the tracks in the playlist from both perspectives as a performer and as an audience member,” says Chen. “All of them have inspired me in their own way.”