Tag Archives: hilary hahn

Violinist Hilary Hahn Shines at UW World Series

Violinist Hilary Hahn (Photo: Karsten Moran)

A few pieces into violinist Hilary Hahn‘s recital at the University of Washington, my companion leaned over and whispered in amazement, “Her tone is like clarified butter!” Indeed, Hahn’s sound is gloriously full and smooth — anything but gritty. When combined with her exacting technique and musical poise, it all adds up to the very picture of a master violinist at the top of her game.

A touring soloist since her teenage years, the 34-year old Hahn first gained attention for her interpretations of the classics, especially Bach. Recently, she’s expanded her musical horizons, pushing beyond the traditional classical canon. In 2012, she recorded an album of improvisations with German composer Hauschka, who’s known for his pared-down soundscapes featuring prepared piano.

Hahn’s latest recording project is In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores. The album features twenty-six short pieces commissioned from an illustrious list of composers including Nico Muhly, Jennifer Higdon, and Mason Bates. Hahn’s open contest to find the 27th encore drew a pool of more than 400 submissions from around the world.

Last week, Hahn visited Seattle for a UW World Series recital with pianist Cory Smythe. The April 29 concert at the UW’s Meany Hall for the Performing Arts paired repertoire by Mozart, Schubert, and Telemann with new pieces by living composers Antón García Abril and Richard Barrett, commissioned as part of Hahn’s encores project.

Speaking from the stage, Hahn introduced the pieces on the program, providing background and explaining her connection to each work. She’s an affable speaker, never talking down to the audience. Instead, Hahn’s intelligent commentary felt like an invitation to join her in her musical world.

Like her speaking, Hahn’s playing is a reflection of her personality. Calm and collected, Hahn brings a sense of understated warmth to her music. Her playing always feels firmly planted on the ground, radiating emotion instead of gushing passion.

Standing alone on Meany Hall’s immense stage, Hahn began Telemann’s Fantasia No. 6 in E Minor by creating an atmosphere of calculated melancholy. Though she took small liberties in tempo throughout the solo work’s four movements, these moments all made sense and felt completely natural. After listening to Hahn perform Telemann, it’s easy to understand why she first made her name as a Bach player. Her understated brand of musical expression brings a graceful emotionality to the Baroque style.

Spanish composer Anton Garcia Abril’s Third Sigh blends a variety of musical styles. Some harmonies recall Bartok’s beloved Hungarian folk tunes, while others evoke jazzy Gershwin tunes. Commissioned by Hahn for In 27 Pieces, Third Sigh begins with a flurry of extended violin trills that evolve into soaring melodies. At times giddy, at times grave, the work strings together beautiful phrases that flow one after another. It’s all very nice-sounding, but in the end doesn’t seem to add up to any greater statement.

“Sweet” and “tender” aren’t adjectives typically associated with Arnold Schoenberg’s work. Yet Hahn and Smythe’s performance of the Phantasy for Violin and Piano was full of unexpected sweetness and fleeting tender moments. “It’s not about each note,” said Hahn in her introduction to the piece. “It’s about the gesture. It can be spiky, but it can also be lyrical and ethereal.” There were certainly plenty of spiky moments as Hahn and Smythe exchanged volleys of notes. The musical conversation between the duo could have been enhanced by a sharper tone in the piano.

Violin and piano found an ideal balance during Mozart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major. The two-movement work began cheerfully, with Smythe’s bubbling piano lines providing a foundation for Hahn’s buoyant tone. Here Hahn’s playing was the picture of Mozartean elegance, combining the composer’s refined musical style with a dash of wit. In the theme and variations of the second movement, the duo highlighted dramatic changes from major to minor key.

Hahn and Smythe concluded with Schubert’s Fantasia in C Major for Violin and Piano, the most emotionally vulnerable performance of the evening. Here Hahn was at her most dramatic, effectively managing the ebb and flow between storm and sunshine. One impeccably-timed pause cut perfectly into a particularly angst minor key passage like a gasp of breath, seeming to bring time to a halt before dissolving into a sunny major key. Though Smythe’s sensitive accompaniment worked well in lyrical sections, he could have stepped up to better match Hahn’s energy in stormier passages.

Following on the emotional high point of the Schubert, Hahn and Smythe concluded with an encore by British composer Max Richter. The final track on In 27 Pieces, Mercy is a sweetly sentimental work that brought out yet another side of Hahn’s musical personality. Her rich violin tone took on just a hint of longing and raw emotionality, a parting gesture that left me intrigued and wanting to hear more.

What We’re Hearing This Month: Classical Music Picks For April

Portland Cello Project (Photo: Tarina Westlund)

Spring is in full bloom around Seattle, from the University of Washington’s famed cherry trees to the patches of tulips poking up in home gardens around town. With these seasonal transitions come musical changes as well; local ensembles and concert venues look towards warmer weather this month with music of growth, rebirth, and summer sunshine.

April 8 — Trio con Brio Copenhagen performs as part of the UW World Series. Comprised of two Korean sisters and a Danish pianist, the ensemble performs classics by Beethoven and Mendelssohn as well as a piece by Danish composer Per Nørgård.

April 11 – 19 — Pacific Northwest Ballet‘s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream combines Mendelssohn’s beloved score with gorgeous choreography by 20th century master George Balanchine. PNB completes the magic with whimsical pastel-hued sets and costumes.

April 12 — A Russian composer of Jewish heritage, Maximilian Steinberg completed his 1927 choral masterpiece Passion Week just before Stalin’s ban on religious music went into effect. As a result, the piece was never performed. Choral ensemble Cappella Romana sheds light on this lost work with world premiere performances in Portland (April 11) and Seattle (April 12).

April 20 — Portland Cello Project rolls into town with the folk singers of the Alialujah Choir, a fellow Oregonian ensemble. The cellists and vocalists bring an eclectic mix of tunes to the stage at the Triple Door.

April 22 — Cellist Joshua Roman is back in town with a new program of musical gems for Town Hall audiences. The Town Music series artistic director is joined by Lithuanian pianist Andrius Zlabys for music by Stravinsky, Schnittke, and others.

April 24 & 26 — Seattle Symphony concertmaster Alexander Velinzon takes the stage for Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major. Afterwards, the spotlight shifts to the symphony in Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.

April 26 — Guest harpsichordist Alexander Weimann leads the Seattle Baroque Orchestra in “Delirio Amoroso”, a program that explores George Frideric Handel’s visit to Rome. Hear Italian music of the early 18th century alongside pieces the young Handel composed during his stay in the capitol.

April 29 — Intrepid violinist Hilary Hahn has covered vast musical territory in her career, from Baroque sonatas to contemporary composers. Her UW World Series solo recital features a medley of works by Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, Telemann, and others.

Hilary Hahn and Hauschka Bring Whimsical, Melancholic Soundscapes to the Neptune Theatre

Hilary Hahn and Hauschka present an evening of improvisational music for violin and prepared piano, centered around their newly-released album Silfra on Tuesday, May 29 at the Neptune Theatre. For tickets and more details, visit the Seattle Theatre Group website.

A perennial favorite on the world’s most illustrious concert stages, renowned violinist Hilary Hahn‘s last visit to Seattle featured an appearance at Benaroya Hall, where she performed a recital featuring works by the classical masters: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Hahn returns to Seattle next Tuesday, but this time she’ll be skipping Benaroya Hall and the Seattle Symphony altogether. Instead, she’s opted for a different sort of venue: the University District’s Neptune Theatre.

Hahn will appear at the Neptune alongside German multi-instrumetalist Hauschka, a genre-defying artist known for his whimsical, melancholic soundscapes that feature prepared piano. The duo is on tour together to promote their new album, Silfra, which was released this past Tuesday, May 22. Hauschka (whose real name is Volker Bertelmann) is notable musical figure in his own right, famous for his experimental tinkering with pianos. Following in the footsteps of John Cage, he brings a fresh, 21st century sound to his compositions, which blend beats and electronic sounds with the clinking, clattering melodies of his prepared pianos.

Hilary Hahn and Hauschka (Photo: Mareike Foecking)

As one of the world’s most famous classical violinists, Hahn has a score of accomplishments under her belt. A child prodigy, she entered the international spotlight in her early teens, debuting with the major American orchestras and signing a recording contract with Sony Music. Since then, she’s carved out an illustrious career for herself, winning consistent praise and acclaim from audiences and critics alike. With so many opportunities to perform alongside the crème de la crème of the classical music world, it’s notable that Hahn has made time for side projects like her collaboration with Hauschka.

After years of trading ideas, Hahn and Hauschka met in an Icelandic recording studio last year to develop their shared musical vision. Silfra is the result of this collaborative experimentation. Highly improvisational, the album is an evocative blend of acoustic sounds that’s full of detail and nuance. Together, Hahn’s violin and Hauschka’s pianos create a landscape of flowing beats and repeating melodic fragments. Hahn leaves her classical playing style at the door, summoning growling, raw, and even scratchy tones that blend in perfectly with the musical surroundings.

Tuesday’s concert is a unique opportunity for classical music fans to hear a completely different side of Hahn’s musical personality. There’s also plenty to hear for followers of Hauschka’s extensive career. Silfra is one of his richest and most adventuresome releases to date. It’ll be a thrill to see these two masterful musicians meet on stage and experience their creations as they unfold in real time.

What We’re Hearing This Month: Classical Music Picks for May

This month is full of wild and wacky happenings in the Seattle classical music scene. World-famous violinist Hilary Hahn skips over Benaroya Hall and plays a show at the Neptune. Seattle Opera broadcasts a live stream of one of their productions to a crowd of 8,000 (screaming?) fans at KeyArena. An instrument called the “fire organ” anchors an opera at On the Boards. You’ve got to hear it to believe it!

Trimpin (Photo: Toni Gauthier)

May 5 — Seattle Opera hosts its first ever simulcast at KeyArena. Watch Puccini’s Madama Butterfly on the big screen while the action unfolds at McCaw Hall. Tickets to this event are free.

May 15 & 17 — Head to Benaroya Hall for Seattle Symphony‘s production of Bartok’s deliciously dark opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. With lavish sets designed by Dale Chihuly, this staging is one you won’t want to miss.

May 18 – 20 — Notorious sound artist, sculptor, and composer Trimpin presents The Gurs Zyklus at On the Boards. Half opera, half performance art, this production features vocalists and a kinetic sound sculpture called the “fire organ”.

May 18-19 — Celebrated violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg joins the Seattle Symphony for a performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Also on the program is Mozart’s Requiem, the composer’s haunting final work.

May 19 — Seattle Modern Orchestra‘s final concert of the 2011-12 season, “Music on Paintings”, features pieces inspired by works of visual art. Experience their performance of Morton Feldman’s “Rothko Chapel” in the atmospheric Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center.

Hilary Hahn & Hauschka (Photo: Mareike Foecking)

May 29 — What happens when one of the world’s best classical violinists collaborates with one of the world’s greatest champions of the prepared piano? Catch violinist Hilary Hahn — famous for her interpretations of Bach — at the Neptune Theater with German experimental tunesmith Hauschka. The pair is on tour promoting their genre-bending album SILFRA.

May 30 — Wash down your opera with a cold pint of tasty local brew. The singers of Opera on Tap take over Ballard’s Conor Byrne Pub for an evening of sudsy, operatic fun. Cheers!