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| | Hilary Hahn - Barber & Meyer: Violin Concertos | | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Sony | | Release Date : | | 2000-03-14 | | Store Price : | | $8.99 | | Artistopia's Price: $8.98 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Violin Concerto, Op. 14: Allegro
2. Violin Concerto, Op. 14: Andante
3. Violin Concerto, Op. 14: Presto in moto
4. Violin concerto: Movement I
5. Violin concerto: Movement II
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Outstanding Barber
Submitted on: 2009-10-13 |
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I'm starting to come around to Hilary Hahn as a player. When I first heard her, I was put off by certain aspects of her playing, but now I've finally come to appreciate what she brings to the table. Her tone isn't as full as say Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Viktoria Mullova, or Anne Sophie Mutter, but her overall drive and determination put her in the same ring as these players and may very well surpass them. Technically Hahn is flawless and her performances are almost partly detached emotionally, which gives her a certain introspection not found in many of the violinists I've heard. Hahn is, without a doubt in my mind, a virtuoso with a bright future. Her playing is also very clear as she plays almost transparently where you can hear how defined the structure of the music actually is. She also seems to serve the music more than herself, which is an admirable trait in a soloist, especially of Hahn's caliber.
Hahn's playing on Barber's "Violin Concerto" is, without question, one of the finest I've heard and she's battling some stiff competition from Bell, Stern, Perlman, and Shaham. I can say she succeeds in outperforming these fine violinists. Her technique is flawless. I disagree with one reviewer who said the third movement "Presto" was bland. They must have been listening to another recording (probably Perlman), because she blew my mind with her rush of energy and amazing virtuosity. I'm almost convinced that this performance will not be bettered by any other violinist. Only history will tell now.
The Meyer "Violin Concerto" is actually not too bad of a piece of music as some reviewers would have you to believe. I have only listened to it once. Further listening will tell me how well I end up liking this concerto.
The conducting from Hugh Wolff is highly sensitive and overall very pleasing. He keeps up with Hahn which is no easy task for any conductor. She leaves most conductors scrambling for their baton. The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra also provide superb accompaniment. Highly detailed and only forceful when the music calls for it. The audio quality is also excellent. Sony, in more recent years, have perfected their audio engineering and this performance benefits from the SBM (Super Bit Mapping) technology.
I think this disc deserves the high praise it's received. Highly recommended. |
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How Can Anyone Not Like This?
Submitted on: 2009-01-09 |
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This is such sweet, evocative, and accessible music played so eloquently that I can't stop playing it -- this CD has been played twice a day here for the last three days! I'm familiar with Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto from the Kyoko Takezawa/Leonard Slatkin recording, a fine enough interpretation on a larger scale; but Hilary Hahn, just 19 when this was released in 2000, exudes such a cool objectivity and firm understanding of Barber's elegiac American expression that one can't help but be taken by it. Takezawa certainly allowed herself freer rein in much of the work's more emphatic and romantically inclined moments. Her tone also often took on a rougher, darker shade very reminiscent of Anne-Sophie Mutter -- I'm wondering if it's her or her instrument. Hahn, on the other hand, plays in a more controlled manner with perfectly judged phrasing, finely graduated dynamic adjustments, and absolutely superb intonation. (After having heard Hahn on a few recordings, I'm convinced this girl is well-nigh incapable of playing a bad note!) Nothing we hear draws gratuitous attention to itself except Barber's beautifully inevitable scoring and Hahn's impeccable, decidedly feminine realization of it. Another big plus here is the smaller, more intimate compound sonority of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra led by Hugh Wolff who provide the consummate accompaniment. As to the work itself, the first two movements are positively fetching, tuneful and sublime. However, I'm not all that enamored of the frenzied and seemingly disconnected brief finale; it's from a different world entirely, though certainly a virtuoso showcase for both soloist and orchestra; Hahn and the orchestra tear through it with aplomb and fine ensemble.
Edgar Meyer is a virtuoso double-bassist and composer from Tennessee who has made a name for himself in a variety of musical styles. His Violin Concerto was written for Hahn and here represents her first (and so far only) world premiere recording. The work is in two parts and is immediately accessible, blending a firmly tonal American minimalist sensibility with Appalachian folk stylings and even occasional allusions to neoclassical Stravinsky. It's a thoroughly charming and entrancing confection which complements the preceding Barber and is played by all concerned with a winning verve, commitment and convincingness. |
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 Autumn in Spring
Submitted on: 2008-12-11 |
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It is like autumn in spring. Slender fingers patter over the neck of the violin like small raindrops on a river. The smooth movement of her wrist brings out slurring notes and her bow glides and bounces over the dead metallic strings- bringing life to the four coils of steel.
Hillary Hahn, 19 years old, plays two American concertos which were both commissioned for a young virtuoso, the Meyer being composed especially for Hahn herself in 1999 as she received the concerto page by page through the fax machine. The Barber concerto, on the other hand, was originally composed for a Philadelphia industrialist Samuel Fels, who wanted a showy concerto for his son. Its first two movements are very melodic and enchanting, while the finale is brilliant and technically difficult.
Hahn's tone is very rich and beautiful- she knows how to control the bow and her vibrato. In the third movement of the Barber, she dashes through with intense speed as the notes scurry on like a small animal running through the woods at night. In the Meyer, which is "her" concerto, she begins with a sweet melody that reminds one of a misty early morning lake in Scotland. The piece graduates to a grander scale, as we leave the lake and run over rugged gorges from a bird's eye view. The music is more like a soundtrack for a spectacle movie but gets a little repetitious in the middle as a similar melody drones on. However, it moves on to a lively bluegrass melody as Hahn performs double stops that would be just the thing for a square dance.
Hahn's playing is lyrical and technically astonishing. It is much like her physical appearance- delicate with a no-nonsense manner. She is particularly good when she performs the fast sections. However, her overall performance doesn't seem to have much depth. It is like ice-skating with marvelous jumps and lunges, but the music never gets beneath the ice. The heart-wrenching melodies are beautiful but not as soulful as they could be. Nonetheless, she performs with a manner that not many adults have, and shows immense love and interest for the music- which are all professional traits that make her one of the best. |
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I Need This Recording
Submitted on: 2007-08-13 |
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I got this from the library this past spring. It was a rare case of absolute love at first measure. This strange and wondrous concerto cannot help but fascinate, and the ever-astounding Hilary Hahn gives a performance that I feel sure would meet with Samuel Barber's approval and highest admiration.
... Furthermore, if I do not get this for my birthday I will most certainly run down the street screaming like a bad Wagner soprano. |
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The Barber is a classic, the Meyer is forgettable crossover piffle
Submitted on: 2007-01-10 |
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It's a bit shocking that almost every reviewer here equates these two works. The Barber concerto has become a classic, with four or five major recordings since it returned to popularity thanks to Gil Shaham's DG recording that paired it with the even more lush, ar more neglected Korngold concerto. The Meyer work has no chance of reaching such a status. It is quasi-minimalist piffle with overtones of Copland, bluegrass, and anonyous folksiness. I heard Play the work--she is its dedicatee--with the Boston Sym., and I was embarrassed for the musicians. Asking a major symphony orchestra to play a work whose challenges wouldn't frighten a junior high band was shameful.
But Sony has commerical savvy on its side. Hahn sells better than almost anyone except Joshua Bell, and they wanted to attract the same audience that Meyer pleas3ed with his Appalachian Journey CD and other crossover bestsellers with Yo-Yo Ma and Bell. Even so, his attempt at Philip glass For Dummies strikes me as quite poor, and even Hahan's charismatic presence can't salvage it. Thank goodness for the Barber, a lovely account that belong with the best, especially because Ms. Hahn plays the Presto finale as fast as lightning. By comparison everyone else seem to be dawdling. |
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