Music : Violin Concertos

Rating: - More than barbed wire and tanks
I have in the past thought of Shostakovich in terms of barbed wire, tanks, and icy winters. This, until the orchestra in which I play viola, performed his 5th Symphony. I was overwhelmed by the power of it, and by the deep sadness I felt in it, in parts. With this in mind, I re-visited other works of his, including the First Violin Concerto. I first acquired a version with Maxim Vengerov as soloist, and was stunned at what I had overlooked in the music in the past. I then purchased this album, since Hilary Hahn has been my favourite violinist for some time. I have listened to the last three movements by each soloist repeatedly. I find both performances to be excellent, but, on balance, Hilary Hahn's interpretation is more moving, and it is intensely moving in places. To my ear, her tone has a depth and intensity, even darkness, which fits the music magnificently. I am astonished that a person of her age (and physical statue) can summon such power and maturity in a demanding composition such as this. I highly recommend this CD.

I also recommend another of her CDs, "Hilary Hahn Plays Bach", most especially for her interpretation of the Chaconne. I believe this is one of the great compositions in western music, and I have heard no better performance than hers, again partly due to her wonderfully deep tone, but also due to the magic of her own interpretation. I have listened to this track many times, and never cease to be deeply moved.

I haven't even listened to the Mendelssohn concerto yet.

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Rating: - Hilary Hahn: a new Heifetz is borning
Without a doubt, Hilary Hahn is a new Heifetz. This CD is proving this. Her impressive quickness and accuracy in Mendelssohn's and Shostakovich's concertos indicate that Hahn will become the legend of the century. This CD was the best violin recording that I have heard.

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Rating: - Mendelssohn, 3rd Movement
Hilary Hahn has a great technique. I loved her Bach even more than Grumiaux's. I figured you couldn't lose with the stuff she uses. I was wrong. What in the world did this young lady do to the 3rd movement of the Mendelssohn? Did she have to run off to the loo or something? I bet the conductor's arm nearly fell off when she sprinted away. She lost all clear articulation when she did that and she also lost the orchestra in a couple of places. As a violin teacher, I would have to tell her to come back to that passage and play it again, slower, and with some clear articulation.
It was so rushed I couldn't catch up enough to hear some music. It looks I'm going to keep listening to the old guys on this one ;-). Isaac Stern's and Fritz Kreisler's have left pleasant memories.

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Rating: - Amazing technique
This is probably the most virtuosic and technically dazzling recording of the Mendelssohn I've ever heard. Unfortunately, it was too fast (particularly in the third movement) to convey much depth. The opening of the third movement is one of the most dramatic in the entire repertoire, but the drama/suspense was killed because she rushed through it. Even the timing is off - she suddenly speeds up for no apparent reason shortly after the tempo change, immediately before the introduction of the theme. Mendelssohn wrote the opening to create a sense of anticipation about the presentation of the theme, but this anticipation is not conveyed in Hahn's recording because she speeds through it and doesn't even hold a steady tempo. That was my biggest complaint about the recording, although the rest of it seems to be primarily about displaying her impressive technique, rather than playing with any real depth. As mentioned in other reviews, Heifetz's famous recording is a great example of a virtuosic and moving performance of this piece. Hahn's falls short in this regard. In any case, my favorite recordings of this concerto are Midori's live performance with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Salerno-Sonnenberg's.

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Rating: - Very special promise and a glittering technique
The other reviewers here have touched on many points that don't need repeating about Hilary Hahn's silvery tone, exemplary technique, and fresh approach. Hearing her in perosn makes clear that she has charisma, a special gift of communication with the audience that keeps an entire concert hall silent while she plays. Her tone is rather small, very sweet, and naturally lyrical. She makes no attempt to produce a fat virtuoso sound.

This would seem to work agaisnt her in the Shostakovich, which is dominated by the classic interpretation from Oistrakh, biggest of all big violinists. But Hahn makes something different of the Shostakovich First Concerto, turning her back on its very Russian black sorrow and biting irony. The orchestra still sounds that way, but Hahn herself becomes a lone voice of lyrical balm, and the contrast is very convincing. Oistrakh was such a powerhouse in the long cadenza at the end of the slow movement that every other violinist since has been tempted to try the same huge approach. Hahn is penetrating, gritty, and wiry instead--it's the only time she allows herself actual grit. Her finale is mercurial, more positive emotionally than the usual biting slashes one hears from everyone else.

The Mendelssohn is lightness and lyricism all the way, which means that Hahn misses many chances for depth and inward phrasing such as Menuhin famously found in his classic postwar recording with Furtwangler (EMI). Hahn's mercurial swiftness becomes pure delight in the very fast finale, and her feminine sparkle (I mean that as a high compliment) results in a captivating performance that holds one's interest from first to last. Highly recommended in both works.