Ken Nielsen Posted January 18, 2002 Report Share Posted January 18, 2002 I'm enjoying the Hilary Hahn Johannes Brahms Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Maj, Op.77 that includes Igor Stravinsky Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D; Academy of St Martin In The Fields, Sir Neville Marriner. My Daughter got me this for Christmas and I am just delighted with Hilary's performances. Visit: http://www.hilaryhahn.com and go to "Postcards From The Road" for a fun treat as Hilary shares her digital pix from her concert travels around the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fubbi2 Posted January 18, 2002 Report Share Posted January 18, 2002 Hilary Hahn chokes me up. To play so beautifully, with such deep musical understanding, at her age...makes me believe in reincarnation. She must have been a violinist in a previous life. She is perfection seldom seen on earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Nielsen Posted January 18, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2002 Right, it's the understanding part that gets me too (22 years old - my goodness.) Impeccable playing, and aggressive to the point that you know there is plenty of power in reserve but she is only using the right amount for the job at hand. I have got to get her Bach Partitas next. She's a joy to listen to. While listening, I thought even Bach's eyes would flicker if he could hear her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddlin Posted January 18, 2002 Report Share Posted January 18, 2002 I recently bought all her CDs. She's my dream girl! Young, beautiful, and she plays the violin!!! I've never heard somebody play with such perfect intonation. I've read through most of her "postcards from the road." She sounds like she has as much personality as she has talent! Wait - I'm married. Oh, well. Well, my wife is also 22..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primrose84 Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 that bach album is a sock rocker. some may complain her chaconne takes too long...but its my favorite rendition for the time being. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuangKaiVun Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 Some of us also don't like the way she overplays the violin. With half the forcing, she'd have twice the sound and half the career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violin/Violist Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 Well... some of us do like the way her perfect technique can let her express anything and everything she wants to. She plays as though the violin was another limb on her body. I don't care about how one produces sound as long as it is expressive and beautiful. And I know it's hard for you to belive this, but your style of playing is not the only "right" way to play the violin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKF Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 ... [This message has been edited by JKF (edited 02-22-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuangKaiVun Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 Who said I had to like Hilary Hahn, Violin/Violist? It will be even harder for you to believe that I respect Hahn's tremendous skills 100% even though I'd NEVER want to play like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldbear Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 Anyone catch the wiff of sour grapes around here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKF Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Oldbear: Anyone catch the wiff of sour grapes around here? :-) It is too bad. Hilary Hahn is herself, and I believe she is a beautiful player. I feel her personality comes through in her play. I can't help but think so. I feel she expresses herself well in her own sound and way of play. She's already told her story, and I need not add more, nor am I going to dissect what she does: no need because the picture is there. When she was a student in our area, she would play at the retirement homes. She was working out her repertoire that way, also providing a lovely gift for the elderly. I know she had alot of support, but she also had a gift which was nourished through her teachers, parents, and mentors. Regards, J [This message has been edited by JKF (edited 01-19-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 Thanks for the sample, JFK. I find her simply amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKF Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 quote: Originally posted by fatcat: Thanks for the sample, JFK. I find her simply amazing. My pleasure :-). Until later, J [This message has been edited by JKF (edited 01-19-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwl Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 I continue to maintain that I don't hear or see forcing when I hear her play. Her tone production is completely different from the Galamian/DeLay school that we hear in most of the other major soloists. I've heard her in two venues -- one a fairly intimate recital hall, and the other a large modern concert hall (where she played the Elgar, which is set against massive orchestral forces). Both times she carried clearly and beautifully, her sound the appropriate size for the space. She doesn't get sound by pressure -- indeed, she really doesn't leave the bow right up by the bridge, as most soloists do. Instead, she uses a lot of bow -- a LOT of bow. She's got such a seamless legato that she can take multiple bows where another player would be forced to use a single bow. On a sustained note you'll see her change freely and totally inaudibly. Contrast, say, Maxim Vengerov, who *does* get power by forcing. (I wonder how much of that is due to having grown up trying to play really cheap violins.) Frankly, if I had the choice of being able to produce sound like any one violinist living or dead, it'd probably be Hahn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Victor Posted January 19, 2002 Report Share Posted January 19, 2002 Yes! Yes! Yes! In fact "lwl" I almost always agree with you so closely that I think we share the same brain (although you usually make better use of it). (Take that as a compliment). Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violinerrrz Posted January 20, 2002 Report Share Posted January 20, 2002 I am totally blown away by this Brahms CD! Bought it the day it came out and will continue to do so with all her releases. I LOVED her Chaconne also! [This message has been edited by Violinerrrz (edited 01-20-2002).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewarts Posted January 21, 2002 Report Share Posted January 21, 2002 Talking about forcing, however, I did sense a tiny bit of scratching when I heard her play a Bach partita encore after a concert of Barber, and when I heard her play the Brahms sonatas. In both cases, I was sitting near the first row, so maybe I was just too close. The scratching was most obvious when she played the fast movements. But then I wonder if it's possible at all to produce so much sound without any scratching, and it doesn't really bother me too much (it did a little when I listened to the Brahms, but that may be just an accident)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Nielsen Posted January 22, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 Thanks for the link JFK. Hahn at 16 - she's also "just being herself" at 16 and the tone is there, the same tone I hear in her more advanced life now at 22. I believe she only has 4 or so Sony CD's out now so it's a good time to start a collection. 60 or so more CD's to come I hope. I'd like to see a new 'Red Violin' type of violin movie made with Hilary involved somehow. I also want to see this young lady play live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fine Posted January 22, 2002 Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 Of all her recordings, the Brahms was my least favorite. Her Beethoven is what really stuns me. The Stravinsky is also pretty cool (but I don't have anything to judge it against, I've never played it, and I don't have any other recordings). I love her Bach (though I find that Allemanda a bit slow... ok, really slow). I was supposed to see her on my birthday, but travel plans got screwed up. Oh well... I'm sure I'll see her soon enough. My friends who've met her say she's very charming and unassuming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted January 22, 2002 Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 I will be seeing Hilary Feb. 5th at Carnegie Hall. This will be my 5th time seeing her live in the last 16 months. I love to watch her bow arm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illuminatus Posted January 22, 2002 Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 I thought her Brahms recording was good, but nothing extraordinary or great. She sounded a bit impersonal in that recording. I think her Bach is what impressed me most, but the tempo was a bit weird. It was way too slow. Vengerov used a lot of force, but I don't think he does that now. His recent recording sounds very relaxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violinerrrz Posted January 22, 2002 Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 I don't think her Bach was too slow, I think everyone else's was too fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivezza Posted January 22, 2002 Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 Lymond, what didn't you like about her Brahms? Just curious. She'll be playing Brahms with the VSO this season and I'm probably going to go, but I'd like to hear your (or anybody else's) opinion. What is it you like/don't like? P.S. The only recording I have of hers is the Barber/Meyer which I love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwl Posted January 22, 2002 Report Share Posted January 22, 2002 I want to gripe again about Marriner's conducting in that Brahms. (That ability to create a clear sense of line is what makes her Bernstein Serenade and Stravinsky concerto listenable for me -- I don't like other recordings of these works, and they never made sense to me prior to hearing Hahn's recording.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Nielsen Posted January 23, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2002 I have had CD's before that needed more listening time for me to grow into. The Barber/Meyer CD is an instant hit - I play it all the time. I think the Brahms is one of the 'grow into' CD's for me. I think it will, upon more hearings, become one of my favorites as Hilary's 'delivery' sinks into my mind. fatcat is so fortunate, let us know your impressions so we can vicariously share the experience with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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