- Performer: Hilary Hahn
- Composer: Beethoven; Bernstein
- Audio CD (Feb 9 1999)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Label: Sme
- ASIN: B00000GV4L
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#3,405 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- #55 in Music > Classical > Forms & Genres > Concertos
- #63 in Music > Classical > Chamber Music > By Period
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op. 61: I. Allegro, ma non troppo |
| 2. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op. 61: I. Larghetto |
| 3. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op. 61: III. Rondo, Allegro |
| 4. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion: I. Phaedrus. Pausanias (Lento - Allegro) |
| 5. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion: II. Aristophanes (Allegretto) |
| 6. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion: III. Eryximachus (Presto) |
| 7. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion: IV. Agathon (Adagio) |
| 8. Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion: V. Socrates, Alcibiades (Molto Tenuto - Allegro Molto Vivace) |
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
For God's Sake Let's Hear Hilary, Not the Orchestra!!!!!
Nov 1 2003
Format:Audio CD
The first thing you ask me is do I like this CD. Yes, it's very pretty. How about the recording? Actually, I don't like the sound engineering. How about the performer Hilary Hahn? She's fantastic!
I've been listening to Hilary for less than six months, since discovering her by chance. After about 30 seconds I came to the conclusion that this girl is as great a violinist as I've ever heard. Her intonation is perfect, her tone gorgeous, like velvet, better than Heifitz. I've heard them all. Hilary is from the Bel Canto school of violin playing.
Unfortunately, I can't give similar praise to the sound engineering. Several of your reviewers have complained about Miking, too close, too far. Well, I guess it comes down to whether or not you want to hear Hilary or the Orchestra. I bought this recording to hear Hilary and what I got was a solo recording of the orchestra with Hilary struggling to be heard in the background. I agree that the orchestral part of Beethoven's only violin concerto is beautiful but I've been listening to it for 61 years (I'm 72) and I think I've got it down. Conversely, I was trained in the violin and I want to hear the violinist and if you drown out the violinist with the orchestra how can I hear what Hilary is doing? Let me put it another way. Is this a violin concerto or an orchestra concerto?
By the way, the same comments can be made of Sony Classic's CD of Hilary Hahn playing Mendelssohn's violin concerto. Also, why do you mix Beethoven and Bernstein or Mendelssohn and Shostakovich. Too each his own but the styles of these composers are very different. More power to those who like both but why don't you put Bernstein and Shostakovich on the same CD together and Beethoven and Mendelssohn on another. That would double my pleasure and save me some money.
So the CD is worth every penny you pay for it just to hear Hilary Hahn in the background.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
36 reviews
55 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Sets the current-day standard of performance
July 17 2003
Format:Audio CD
Hilary Hahn's recording of Beethoven's great Violin Concerto sets the standard for contemporary performances of this piece. Her technique alone would make her a great musician. What is even more impressive is that she applies her technique in a thoughtful, musical manner. A recording musician today should be able to give an adequate technical performance of any given piece--what separates Hahn from the rest is that the music comes first, with her technique as its outlet, rather than the music being a showcase for talent.
The Beethoven Violin Concerto is indisputably one of the top violin (or any instrument, for that matter) concertos ever written. It is a remarkable piece in that it is not as note-heavy as, say, Tchaikovsky's, but is more complex. The second movement is especially wonderful, beginning with a longer-than-typical theme by the soloist that is at its heart simple, yet elegant. The soloist then guides the orchestra in exploring the theme, leading it down one path, then following another, agreeing here, contrasting there. It's a doctoral thesis in the art of the concerto as a conversation between soloist as master of his or her craft and orchestra as equal partners.
The thing that Beethoven did so well that none will ever be his equal at it is to take a relatively simple theme--I, a non-musician, can play the main themes from two of the greatest symphonies ever composed, the Fifth and the Ninth, on my toddler's five-note toy piano!--and make it great through repetition and variation of melody and harmony. Beethoven could write a piece that used the same theme a hundred times and you'd still feel like it was fresh at the conclusion. So it is with the third movement of this concerto.
Hahn and Zinman excel in this recording because they capture the essence of this music--simple themes musically done in a manner where both soloist and orchestra contribute. One certainly wouldn't have Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on the tip of one's tongue when asked about the greatest orchestras today--thoroughly competent, to be sure, but not the best of the best. What Zinman does so well in this recording is to not exaggerate the piece. The dynamics and tempos of the piece are kept in a moderate range--no fireworks where a candle is called for. And perhaps as a great athlete improves the abilities of teammates, so Hahn lends her technique, restraint, and intelligence to the orchestra.
Let's face it, no one's buying this for the Bernstein. It's a good performance of a decent piece, but it's not why you'll reach for this CD over and over. It's something of an ironic pairing; if ever there was a conductor who bludgeons listeners with Beethoven (outside of an excellent recording of the Third with the Vienna Philharmonic) more than Bernstein I don't know who it is.
Wrapping up: this CD has joined the Menuhin/Furtwangler recording as my favorite performance of this supreme Violin Concerto.
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Superb! Best recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto!
Jun 27 2002
Format:Audio CD
Protege Hilary Hahn has done an amazing job on this piece.
The booklet included contains interesting information on the composers as well as Hilary herself.
Hilary's tone is very sweet, but she still has an amazing amount of power. Each note is very pronouced and clear, as well as artistic. I own the score to this piece, and Hilary doesn't miss one single note, either.
If you combine her performance with the Beethoven concerto, the effect is marvelous. The piece has every emotion imaginable, and the transitions, written in the piece as well as played by Hilary are very smooth and subtle.
The Leonard Bernstein piece is very different from the Beethoven concerto. Each movement settles on one emotion, so there are no transitions, and each movement seems like a seperate piece. It will be hard to listen to this piece after the Beetrhoven concerto, and I usually turn my stereo off after the finale of the Beethoven concerto. still, the Berstein piece is really great. I recommend that you listen to the pieces seperately.
I recommend this CD over recordings made by Anne-Sophie Mutter, Midori, Josh(ua) Bell, and Sarah chang. You will not regret buying this CD. It is a truly PERFECT addition to any music library.
-Ian Snyder
The booklet included contains interesting information on the composers as well as Hilary herself.
Hilary's tone is very sweet, but she still has an amazing amount of power. Each note is very pronouced and clear, as well as artistic. I own the score to this piece, and Hilary doesn't miss one single note, either.
If you combine her performance with the Beethoven concerto, the effect is marvelous. The piece has every emotion imaginable, and the transitions, written in the piece as well as played by Hilary are very smooth and subtle.
The Leonard Bernstein piece is very different from the Beethoven concerto. Each movement settles on one emotion, so there are no transitions, and each movement seems like a seperate piece. It will be hard to listen to this piece after the Beetrhoven concerto, and I usually turn my stereo off after the finale of the Beethoven concerto. still, the Berstein piece is really great. I recommend that you listen to the pieces seperately.
I recommend this CD over recordings made by Anne-Sophie Mutter, Midori, Josh(ua) Bell, and Sarah chang. You will not regret buying this CD. It is a truly PERFECT addition to any music library.
-Ian Snyder
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Hahn, the new talent that has endless possibilities.
Mar 6 2000
Format:Audio CD
I heard Hahn perform the Beethoven in January of 2000 with the L.A. Phil and was moved beyond words. I had heard about her before but hadn't listened to her yet. I had already thought in my mind that she was just another young violinist with a good technique but nothing special. I expected to be dissapointed like I have been by Vengerov and Chang. With the first note of the her violin I was suddenly struck dumb. She played with a flawless, flawless intonation. Her tone was never muffled or crunched even in the Kreisler cadenzas. I've never heard those cadenzas played so beautifully and perfectly. Her tempo was wonderful. Too many violinists are taking the Beethoven at a tempo that is too slow. Hahn chose a perfectly brisk tempo and did not lose anything because of it. With her there is finally a violinist that has the potential to stand above the rest. We've been in need of one of those for a while. In speaking to Ms. Hahn after the perfomance I was very happy to find her to be just like any other 20 year old. She could very well have been my next door neighbor. She was so unasuming with not a trace of ego. In Hahn I see the violinist for us for the next 40 or so years. She can control the violin world just as Heifetz did for the better part of the 20th century.
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