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Music CD - Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, Neville Marriner, Hilary Hahn, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields: Hilary Hahn ~ Brahms · Stravinsky - Violin Concertos
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Music CD: Hilary Hahn ~ Brahms · Stravinsky - Violin Concertos
Artist: Johannes Brahms, Igor Stravinsky, Neville Marriner, Hilary Hahn, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
List Price: $11.98
Our Price: $6.49
Your Save: $ 5.49 ( 46% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sony
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op.77: Allegro Non Troppo
2. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op.77: Adagio
3. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Major, Op.77: Allegro Giocoso, Ma Non Troppo Vivace
4. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D: Toccata
5. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D: Aria I
6. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D: Aria II
7. Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D: Capriccio
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0696998964921
Label: Sony
Manufacturer: Sony
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: 2001-11-13
Studio: Sony
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Absolute reference material here...
Comment: For some reason, I never got around to getting a recording of the Brahms concerto even though I've had the other warhorses (i.e. Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky) for awhile. After hearing Joshua Bell give a live performance, it rekindled my fondness for the concerto and I just had to get my hands on a good recording of it. After listening to several samples on Amazon, the sample recording of this CD was the only one I kept coming back to, so I took the plunge and boy, am I glad I did. Hilary's playing here is pure joy to listen to. Her double stops are clean and crisp with faultless intonation. She produces a very sweet and clear tone from her fiddle which was never fatiguing to my ears. (I could listen to this recording all day!) By comparison, I am not a fan of Mutter's thin tone. I can never listen to her (Mutter's) recordings for more than a minute. In addition, out of all the other recordings I sampled, I felt Hilary really nailed the tempo in the third mvmt of the Brahms. I can't stand some other Brahms recordings which slow the third mvmt down way too much, sucking all the exuberance from it. Here, Hilary maintains the sparkle throughout with a perfect tempo and her precise bow work .
As for the Stravinsky, I wasn't at all familiar with the work, but Hilary brought the same sense of excitement and technical perfection to it as well. At any rate, this recording has converted me to a Hilary fan. My wife and I had tix to go see her play the Goldmark, but she cancelled at the last minute due to illness. Come back to H-town for a visit, Hilary! But bottom line, this recording is definitely reference Brahms material. Highly recommended!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Finger Gymnastics
Comment: Anyone who plays a stringed instrument appreciates a player's player. I'm a guitarist who had the privelege to see and hear Hilary Hahn perform a Goldmark piece with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra yesterday. Simply put, this lady is the Joe Satriani of the violin. I was unaware of her before; now I want everything she's recorded.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Classicalist approach to Brahms--amazing
Comment: A more classical approach to Brahms then say, Bell did in his recording--this is a really great album. The gem is (surprisingly) the Stravinsky Concerto. Well done!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Stylistically precise and subdued--it mostly works quite well
Comment: There's no need to point out that the Brahms and Stravinsky violin concertos are polar opposites musically, but they also pose contrary problems for the violinist. The Brahms is always played "big" for romantic drama, while the dry-eyed Stravinsky dares anyone to find a style that sounds exactly right. The composer seemed to prefer no style, that is, he wanted detached, objective, rhythmically strict playing. To most ears that makes for a very dry experience, so violinists add expression and hope they aren't violating the score, while in the Brahms they struggle not to sound like another Oistrakh imitation (fifty years ago it was a Heifetz imitation).
Hilary Hahn has found her way in both concertos. Her Brahms is small-voiced, deliberate to the point of caution (one is reminded of Menuhin with Furtwangler), and carefully molded. It's a bit like hearing Kathleen Battle sing Wagner, but overall her style works. Hahn's great virtue is consistency--she keeps all three movements toned down, even the finale. There is no gypsy abandon here, and the accompanist, Nevile Marriner with the chamber-sized Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, follows Hahn's lead, providing a subdued, lyrical background to her forwardly placed solo. I doubt that this reduction would carry well in a large concert hall, but it sounds charming on CD, and how often can you say that the Brahms D major is charming?
In the Stravinsky Hahn blends into the orchestra a good deal more, playing first among equals in a game of neo-classical counterpoint. Her expressive touches are small but definite; she is sweeter and more songful than earlier soloists in the part. But a listen to Perlman or especially Vengerov reveals that there is a lot more room for slashing strokes, swoops, sharp edges--in ohter words, the soloist can take over. Hahn chooses not to and gives a lovely reading because once again she is consistent and detailed.
Overall, the comparison to Kathleen Battle is pretty apt--here is c charmingly feminine artist who wins the listener over through sweetness and personal magnetism.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Brahms, but buy it for the Stravinsky
Comment: From the clevage on the cover to her tackling of this challenging and emotionally complex Brahms piece, Hillary Hahn seems to be proclaiming her maturity with this record.
And she does it well. The Brahms is done enegetically, although her sound gets pretty abrasive in parts, especially in the first movement. The second movement is absolutely amazing though. She effortlessly moves through it giving an emotional, but not overwrought performance. The final movement is very good though not as good as the 2nd.
The Stravinsky is the best I've ever heard, much much better than the Perlman/Ozawa version that fills out their cd of the Berg concerto. The tempo is brisk and baroque, apparently the effect Igor was after. Hillary, with her extensive experience playing Bach does an amazing job and makes it sing.
I was skeptical of the Academy's ability to pull off Stravinsky and Brahms, but to my pleasent surprise, they played it as well or better than any big orchestra could. I guess with period groups taking over the chamber orchestra scene Sir Neville had to branch out. He does it beautifully!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Hilary Hahn is not only one of the best, but one of the most interesting young violinists before the public. Even as a teenager, she seemed uninterested in displaying her formidable technical mastery, concentrating instead on the music with a seriousness far beyond her years. Now 21, she has become a thoughtful, knowledgeable musician and an arresting, involved performer. Both qualities are reflected in this recording, beginning with the choice of the two concertos, which are entirely dissimilar--except for being in the same key--yet make an excellent pair, and extending to the program notes, which blend personal reminiscence and scholarly research. As for the playing, it is extraordinary. Technical difficulties do not exist. Even the most daunting passages, like the infamous G-major section in the Finale of the Brahms and the wild running-around in the Stravinsky, are dispatched with perfect clarity and consummate, effortless ease. Hahn's tone is intense, focused, variable, and of pristine purity in all registers, at all dynamic levels. She never loses her sense of meter or direction; her phrases have shape and elegance; and she needs no external effects. Her playing is austere and controlled, with an inward, noble expressiveness; she can change tone and mood on a dime. In the Brahms, the high soaring passages are ecstatic, the Finale is quite fast and very strict; only the Joachim cadenza is almost too free. Altogether, it's a most impressive achievement. --Edith Eisler
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