Tag Archives: violin

Arts & Entertainment, Music

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.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Violinist Jennifer Koh Captivates Town Hall with Bach and Beyond

Jennifer Koh is a violinist on a mission. In 1994, she was thrust into the spotlight with her winning performance at the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the most prestigious contest in the classical music world. Since then, Koh has established a successful career as a touring soloist and recording artist. Now she’s busy establishing her reputation as an advocate of modern and contemporary classical music. Her current project, Bach and Beyond, explores the solo violin repertoire through a series of concerts and recordings. Each Bach and Beyond program juxtaposes selections from Bach’s violin Sonatas and Partitas with works composed in the past hundred years.

Last week, Koh visited Town Hall Seattle to perform Bach and Beyond: Part II, which features Bartók’s Sonata for Solo Violin and a newly commissioned work by Phil Kline. (Bach and Beyond: Part I included works by Eugène Ysaÿe and Elliott Carter, among others). Though a large crowd filled Town Hall for Thursday’s concert, Koh’s performance felt strikingly intimate and personal. Even when she’s blazing her way through impossibly fast passages, her playing has a meditative quality that’s both confident and reflective. This is a musician with the strength of an athlete and the focus and grace of a yogi.

Jennifer Koh (Photo: Christopher Berkey for The New York Times)

Bach and Beyond: Part II treats listeners to two of Bach’s works for solo violin, the Sonata No. 1 in G Minor and the Partita No. 1 in B Minor. Like his renowned Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, Bach’s solo violin music is complex, combining dazzling virtuosic passages with contemplative moments. In line with this, Koh’s interpretations balance technical mastery and musical expression, avoiding showy gestures and overwrought emotions.

Koh opened the evening’s program with a performance of the Sonata that captivated the crowd, silencing even the sniffles and coughs that inevitably accompany winter concerts. Koh seems to disappear into herself when she plays, inviting listeners to follow her into her personal musical world. Her rendition of the Sonata was a prime example of this self-reflection. In particular, the fugue in the second movement highlighted Koh’s distinct musical voice while also showcasing her brilliant technique.

In contrast, Koh let loose in the Partita with a fiery performance of the second movement’s galloping Courante that drew applause from the audience. This was immediately followed by a return to introspection with a pensive Sarabande. Although the Courante was breathtaking, Koh’s playing is most poignant when she’s performing repertoire that gives her (and the audience) the time and space to immerse herself in her own sonic world.

Bartók’s Sonata for Solo Violin provided that perfect opportunity. Rough and raw, the work requires high-caliber technical chops as well as a strong musical personality. Here, Koh’s violin seemed to take on a life of its own, speaking with the versatility of a human voice. Her playing was rich with emotion and imagery, with plenty of technical firepower to boot. Grunts, growls, and squeals punctuated sections that recollected the sound of wind whistling through forested valleys — all summoned by Koh’s bow flying across the strings.

Phil Kline’s Partita for Solo Violin also touched on nature imagery, though in a more direct manner than the Bartók. Written after Hurricane Irene, which struck the East Coast in 2011, Kline’s work was inspired by birdcalls that he heard immediately following the storm. This birdsong was transformed into the chirps and tweets made by the violin in the first movement. The piece is full of moods and colors, including a plaintive folk tune, a rustic dirge, a lonely creaking that evokes the image of an abandoned boat stranded on the seashore.

Bach and Beyond draws fascinating connections between old and new, drawing an arc that traces the evolution of the violin from its rise in the Baroque era to its continued popularity today. Koh is a compelling tour guide, capable of weaving spellbinding performances with music of any era. Keep your ears open for Bach and Beyond: Part III, which promises music by Luciano Berio and a new commission by John Harbison. As well as Bach, of course.

Arts & Entertainment, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts

Laurie Anderson’s “Dirtday!” Enthralls at UW’s Meany Hall

At age 65, Laurie Anderson still defies description. Her performance-art pieces combine visual, musical, and electronic elements into dramatic, highly-personal multimedia events. Anderson’s long career has taken many twists and turns. Trained as a sculptor, she entered the performance-art world in 1969 with a musical work written for car horns. In 1981, her single “O Superman” climbed the pop charts in the UK. Anderson is also known for her experimentation with electronic music and sound, particularly in the area of voice modification. Her inventions often involve the use of the electric violin and keyboard.

Laurie Anderson (Photo: Warner Bros)

On Saturday, Anderson arrived at the University of Washington’s Meany Hall to present her most recent work, “Dirtday!”. Upon entering the auditorium, the sold-out crowd was greeted by a constellation of candles scattered around the sparse, darkened stage. Anderson’s electronic keyboard and violin huddled on one side of the stage, while a leather armchair stood on the other. Just off center hung a blank white screen suspended above the stage.

Illuminated by a single spotlight, Anderson begins the performance with a brief, improvisational solo on the electric violin. Throughout the 90-minute show, she returns to the violin again and again, using instrumental interludes to bridge sections of the performance.

Though music plays a vital role in “Dirtday!”, much of the performance centers on Anderson’s spoken-word monologue. The work is an immersive odyssey into Anderson’s world, a platform for the expression of her ideas, emotions, anecdotes, and musings about life. Anderson’s voice, with the meditative cadence and lyrical tones of a yoga teacher, remains a soothing force even when she’s discussing topics like the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows the US government to detain citizens suspected of terrorist activity without trial.

In terms of content, “Dirtday!” sprawls, digresses, and covers much ground. Anderson touches on a huge range of topics, including Darwinism, dreams, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and fond recollections of her piano-playing dog, Lolabelle. At times, her presentation feels like the ramblings of a chatty, dog-loving grandmother, albeit one with sharp political opinions and a wry sense of humor. The ideas don’t always adhere together in a cohesive manner, but we don’t hold it against Anderson. As spectators experiencing her personal, artistic, and intellectual odyssey, we are guests in her world.

Anderson’s monologue is accompanied by simple but dramatic visual and audio effects. Colored lights illuminate the stage and the hanging screen in glowing hues, slowly shifting between reds, blues, and greens. A soundtrack of dramatic beats is enhanced by effects from Anderson’s keyboard, which she plays while speaking. At times during her monologue, Anderson switches on one of her signature voice filters, which lowers and deepens her voice, making her sound manly and ghoulish. One of the most effective moments of the performance involves Anderson singing a duet with herself, her normal voice echoed by the sinister filtered version.

Sometimes, all of this is a bit overly cinematic. At times, the pounding electronic rhythms give the performance the air of a cheesy spin-off of the Inception film trailer. When coupled with the diabolical tones of Anderson’s filtered voice, the glowing colors of the stage lighting turn the suspended screen into a diabolical Eye of Sauron, straight from the set of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Anderson doesn’t miss the opportunity to show off one of her electronic inventions. She incorporates a demonstration of her modified “pillow speaker”, a small device that fits into her mouth and transforms her voice into violin tones. This doesn’t quite fit in with the rest of “Dirtday!”, but the technology is so enthralling that it doesn’t matter. The performance would have been enhanced with the inclusion of more of Anderson’s gadgets and inventions.

Despite Anderson’s constant digressions, the force of her personality and the immersive nature of her presentation are enough to hold one’s attention throughout “Dirtday!”. The Meany Hall audience remained riveted, giving Anderson two standing ovations at the end of her performance. It’ll be interesting to see what this iconic artist comes up with next in her journey of creation, innovation, and expression.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Russian Chamber Music in a Light Hearted Vein, With More to Come

1 Comment
(Photo: Russian Chamber Music Foundation)

Not everyone wants to go to a formal classical music concert in a concert hall, or make a big evening of it. Some newcomers to the genre might find the idea more than they want to commit to or too much effort, others would like to introduce a kid to this kind of live music and these kinds of instruments.

Don’t despair! Here in Seattle we have a plethora of terrific musicians who perform outside as well as inside the symphony, the opera, the ballet or the theater; in churches, community halls, cafes and other places in the neighborhoods easy to get to, less expensive and you don’t have to dress up. And the concerts are often informal and shorter.

One such performance took place Friday night at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, the first in its own concert season of eight concerts, the first of the season for Seattle Violin Virtuosi, and the first of the season’s offerings from the Russian Chamber Music Foundation. (Find more of their offerings, including an October 14 concert, here.)

It was just an hour long with brief and often humorous remarks introducing short pieces of music arranged for the instruments at hand, but that didn’t make the actual performances less than thoroughly professional and a pleasure to hear.

Five violinists performed from the Virtuosi, led by Michael Miropolsky (more often seen on the first stand of the second violins in the Seattle Symphony) with his colleague in that section, Artur Girsky; Brittany Boulding, excellent concertmaster of the Auburn Symphony and also a member of the Magical Strings family; and Eugene and Natasha Bazhanov, frequent performers with the symphony, ballet, and more.

They were accompanied by pianist Deborah Dewey of Ventidita, who also joined with pianist Natalya Ageyeva, artistic director of the Russian Chamber Music Foundation, to play several pieces with four hands-one piano (as they pointed out, one was for just three hands).

All of the composers were Russian, as befits the mission of the Foundation, with many familiar exerpts from works by Prokofiev, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov (of course), and Katchaturian. Most were upbeat and cheerful, even the familiar Spanish Dance of Shostakovich which lacked any of the angst so often underlying his music.

Every piece had been arranged, sometimes multiple times for a myriad different instruments, so these performers had no hesitation in bringing these works more often heard in different guise to an intimate audience who could hear and see performers and instruments close up.

Several works were played by the five violinists with piano, but Miropolsky, Girsky, and Dewey performed a charming group of Shostakovich miniatures, while Dewey and Ageyeva played together a variety of piano pieces including the very familiar Flight of the Bumblebee by Rimsky-Korsakov.

The acoustics of this modern Presbyterian Church are probably excellent for speech, but not generous to musicians. There was little acoustical warmth to surround, soften or enhance musical resonance, so that at times the violins sounded on the shrill side and the piano a little bit on the percussive side, but these were analytical quibbles in what was after all, a lighthearted and delightful evening of music at the very end of summer.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

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.