Specs & Pricing

Music
Classical
Paganini: Violin
Concerto No. 1.
Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8.
Hilary Hahn, violin; Swedish Radio
Symphony Orchestra, Eiji Oue,
conductor. Thomas Frost, producer;
Jürgen Bulgrin, engineer. Deutsche
Grammophon 289 477 6232.
Though Hilary Hahn impressed as a teenager,
her steady artistic growth in her twenties has
been especially gratifying. After a disc of wellplayed
Mozart sonatas, Hahn was ready to let
some sparks fly, and this release of concertos
by two nineteenth-century violin virtuosos
certainly fits the bill. But while Hahn’s
technique is more securely dazzling than ever,
musical considerations come first.
That’s a good thing because, at close to
forty minutes, the Paganini concerto can wear
thin if it registers only as a series of hurdles
for the soloist to overcome. With Hahn, the
piece can be enjoyed both for the pyrotechnics
and as music. Even the most jaw-dropping
passage work has shape and a musical point.
The violinist’s effortlessly produced harmonics
sound as a natural extension to the rest of her
instrument’s range—identical in strength and
tonal character to her “natural” notes. The
cadenza, by Émile Sauret, could serve as a
recital encore piece in and of itself.
Ludwig Spohr’s Concerto No. 8 was a
favorite of Jascha Brodsky, Hahn’s principal
teacher at the Curtis Institute. It’s more modest
and intimate in scale; the entire concerto is
shorter than the Paganini’s opening movement.
Still, the work is a virtuoso vehicle nonetheless,
requiring stylish and confident execution
to succeed. Hahn delivers. She’s especially
wonderful in the singing central Adagio,
carefully shading dynamics so that the melodic
line has a flowing, spontaneously developing
organicity. Oue and the Stockholm orchestra
don’t have any great demands placed upon
them here, but provide solid support. Sonically,
the solo violin is positioned forward but isn’t
oversized. The extraordinary beauty of Hahn’s
tone—sweet, focused, without overwrought
vibrato—is honestly reproduced.
Hahn’s busy touring schedule for the
upcoming season includes performances
of the Dvorák, Goldmark, and Korngold
concertos. One only hopes that all of these
will make it to disc. Andrew Quint
Further Listening: Khachaturian/
Prokofiev/Glazunov: Violin Concertos
(Julia Fischer) (SACD); Brahms/
Stravinsky: Violin Concertos (Hahn)
Leon Fleisher:
the journey.
Music by Bach, Mozart,
Chopin, Stravinsky, Beethoven. Leon
Fleisher, piano. Grace Row, producer;
Charles Harbutt, engineer. Vanguard
Classics 1796.
The journey is another reminder of how much
Leon Fleisher was missed during his longenforced
absence from two-handed piano
playing before his miraculous recovery from
focal dystonia. Time has ripened his art and,
like his earlier Vanguard disc, this recital is an
indispensable addition to a discography that
includes some of the finest piano recordings
of the past half-century.
Bach is represented by the Capriccio,
“On the Departure of a Brother,” and the
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, both played with
technical aplomb and a knowing combination
Music
Sonics
Extraordinary Excellent Good Fair Poor
136 December 2006 The Absolute Sound