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| | Schoenberg Violin Concerto Op.36/Sibelius Violin Concerto Op.47 | | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | DG | | Release Date : | | 2008-04-08 | | Store Price : | | $16.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $13.99 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. 1 Poco allegro
2. 2 Andante grazioso
3. 3 Finale: Allegro
4. 1 Allegro moderato
5. 2 Adagio di molto
6. 3 Allegro, ma non tanto
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Sublime Sibelius
Submitted on: 2009-06-03 |
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This review doesn't touch on the Schoenberg - almost without exception, all other reviewers praise Ms Hahn's recording of it, and I agree with them completely. It's the reaction to the Sibelius which fascinates me: very divided, with more tending to be negative. Too bland, cold and detached. I strongly disagree.
The Sibelius has always struck me as structurally disjointed, particularly the first movement. Musical ideas appear and subside, half-developed, with little sense of architecture. It was only when I heard the original version of the concerto, recorded (on BIS) for the first time by Greek violinist, Leonidas Kavakos, that I understood how these disparate ideas were in truth connected when originaly woven together. The substantially revised version of the work (invariably heard today) pared much of the music back to its stark raw material, which familiarity has helped us to smooth over.
Ms Hahn's reading of the work restores that greater sense of unity found in the original version. She achieves this by avoiding sudden extremes in mood and tempi. Her arcs are smoother and longer, allowing the musical ideas room to breathe, to evolve naturally from one to another.
Many ears find the result lacking in romatic fire and disappointing. On the contrary, Ms Hahn's reading is intensely brooding and contemplative in the first movement, wonderfuly melodic in the second, and naturally rhapsodic in the third. Her playing throughout is never harsh or forced, but radiant and lyrical. Which is not to say she never plays with fire: listen to the 2 notes that open the cadenza in the first movement at 7:15-7:20. They strike terror in me every time I hear them.
True it is that Ms Hahn's reading is slightly unorthodox, but it captures that quintessentially Finnish aura found in Sibelius' symphonies and orchestral works better than most other recordings. Her playing is of the highest order, the balance with the SRSO is spot on, and Mr Salonen's conducting is superb, revealing previosuly unheard nuances in the score.
Five stars. |
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Grammy-winning Schoenberg? Surprisingly, yes
Submitted on: 2009-02-18 |
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If you were told to think of an artist whose work ended up at the top of a a Billboard chart and garnered a Grammy Award, you would probably come up with a whole host of composers before coming to Arnold Schoenberg. While there are certainly Schoenberg fans in the world, somewhere (I went to high school with one, actually), they are rare because of difficulty on both ends of a musical performance. The Violin Concerto, in particular, is a beast play, and it at times seems only slightly easier for the listener than for the soloist. Really, at times it almost seems like the listener must practice listening to the piece for as long as the soloist must practice playing it, just for the performance to sound good.
In this album, though, Hilary Hahn proves that this need not be the case. While she certainly had to put in a grueling practice regimen in order to learn this monster of a concerto, the result is her groundbreaking interpretation of the piece, her impeccable technique, and her always perfect sound--she turns a mess of a piece, rarely played and even more rarely enjoyed, into a work of art, and the reception the album has gotten shows that people all over agreed that she has done the seemingly impossible: she has gotten people to warm to Schoenberg.
There are plenty of artists out there who play the old classic concertos and play them well. There are some who even attempt novel interpretations of the pieces in order to bring some variety to the repertoire. The truly great violinists, though, are those who offer something new. Hilary Hahn is not just a performer; she belongs to that upper echelon populated by those who give listeners something amazing and unforgettable, and this album proves it (again--remember her Stravinsky album?).
Also included is a performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, for those who want a side by side comparison, not to contrast with the Schoenberg, but to showcase the similarities and to make clearer the hidden romantic depths within the piece.
This is a recording that must be in the collection of any serious listener. |
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Schoeberg Violin Concerto Op./Sibelius Violin Concerto Op. 47
Submitted on: 2009-02-08 |
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| I really don't know much about classical music, but I enjoy listening to this cd. |
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 Hilary Hahn Sibelius & Schoenberg
Submitted on: 2009-01-06 |
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| Excellent CD. Sibelius is more familuar than Schoenberg, but both works are performed exceptionally well. |
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An impressive Sibelius, an accessible Schoenberg
Submitted on: 2008-12-26 |
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The sole violin concerto written by composer Jean Sibelius is my single favorite piece of music. I've heard several recordings of it, from Jascha Heifetz (stunning) to Maxim Vengerov (disappointing save for a rousing finale), and any new recording excites me with the possibilities.
Hilary Hahn's recent recording of the Sibelius violin concerto, under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, is nothing less than gorgeous. Her tones are pure, and she extends the slow parts, squeezing every last bit of emotion out of them. Salonen and the orchestra offer commendable support. In contrast, the violinists I've heard before this (all men, if that matters) seemed to be interested more in just hitting all the notes perfectly. Hahn opened a new door for me.
The Schoenberg violin concerto paired on the disc was written using the composer's pioneering dodecaphonic (or 12-tone) technique. Schoenberg himself pronounced it "unplayable" (with pride!), but Hahn gives it the old college try and manages to draw a discernible melody out of the dissonance. This is definitely the more challenging listen of the two pieces, but repeated tries are most definitely rewarded, especially for those interested in the history of modern classical music (Schoenberg is the undisputed progenitor of such phase, so I'm reserving judgment until I can get my head around it properly with a few listens. Also, I have no frame of reference, never having heard it before.
Twenty years ago, Salonen led violinist Cho-Liang Lin in a recording of the Sibelius violin concerto (paired with the violin concerto of Sibelius's fellow countryman Carl Nielsen) that has since become a classic. I have no doubt that this Hahn performance will achieve an equal level of respect over time. |
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