HH's British Album is Released in the US
Due to a hitch in production, the United States release of Hilary Hahn's new, Brit-themed album was a little late in coming. On September 28, however, the record hit stores across the country. That evening, this reporter had a chance to speak with the violinist via telephone; she was celebrating in a Milwaukee hotel room.
Q: It doesn't sound like much of a party. What's up?
A: (chuckles) I just checked in after a long day of travel, and I'm pretty beat. I have a rehearsal tomorrow afternoon. Sleep is of the essence, so this celebration consists of cake and orange juice, in front of the TV.
Q: What makes this album different from your previous releases?
A: This is the first "theme" disc I've assembled. It was a coincidence: I was interested in recording the Elgar violin concerto, but that piece is substantial and doesn't leave room for a second complete concerto on the same album. The Lark Ascending had been my mom's favorite composition for years – at one point, my dad gave her a cassette containing many different Lark interpretations, and she listened to it so frequently that the tape unraveled. It turned out to be the right length to pair with the Elgar, and with the opportunity to record this album with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis, everything seemed to fall into place. In this context, it's ironic that I'm American by definition – I'm actually 75% British by descent. See, I do match this album, after all!
Q: I see you've dedicated this project to your parents. Why is that?
A: I have them to thank for my British heritage, for one. Additionally, I thought of them a lot while I was making this record: my first memory of the Elgar is listening to it on the radio during a long road trip with my dad, and of course I always associate the Lark with my mom, for the abovementioned reason. Most of all, they've done a lot for me over the years, and I felt that dedicating an album to them – a personal one, which I was proud of – was the least I could do to show my appreciation.
Q: I also noticed that your introduction is in the form of a poem. I don't think I've seen that before.
A: In the course of attempting to write my intro in paragraph form, I kept returning to a few distinct words and phrases; they eventually morphed into a poem. I didn't set out to make a statement or to inflate my abilities beyond what they are – this was simply the best way for me to get across what was in my head.
Q: One last question, then I'll let you get back to your cake: What do you hope listeners will get out of this recording?
A: I wanted to show people two different ends of the British violin-repertoire spectrum. I hope that they'll fall in love with the lyricism of these works. Both of these pieces are performed far too rarely, and I'd be thrilled if, after hearing this album, listeners would go out and explore other works by these composers – Elgar's Dream of Gerontius, for one. Lastly, it would be wonderful if audience members try reaching their own conclusions about the stories each of these pieces tell. While music history is a crucial part of every musician's training, the audience doesn't always have to listen through the composer's – or even the performer's – ears.
In 2001, Time Magazine named Hahn as “America’s Best” young classical musician [1]. Throughout her career, Hahn has performed with countless orchestras around the globe. Hahn now records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon and previously recorded five albums with Sony Classical.
In 1996 Sony Music signed Hahn to an exclusive recording contract, which made her one of the youngest exclusive artists in the label’s history (Sony Bio). Hahn’s first recording, released in 1997, featured selected Solo Sonatas and Partitas of J.S. Bach, and spent weeks as a bestseller on the Billboard classical charts. Her following recording was released in 1999, and included the Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, as well as Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp, and Percussion. This compilation earned Hahn her first Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance with Orchestra. The album also appeared as a classical bestseller on the international record charts (Sony Bio). In September 1999, Hahn gave the world premiere performance of the Edgar Meyer Violin Concerto with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Hugh Wolff. Meyer commissioned and wrote the violin concerto specifically for Hahn (Sony Bio). A week after the live performance, Hahn recorded Meyer’s work along with Samuel Barber’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. The two pieces were released by Sony Classical in March 2000 and would later spend several weeks on the Billboard classical charts. The recordings earned Hahn the German Music Critics’ Award and a cover story in the magazine Gramophone. Hahn won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with orchestra) for her fourth album released in 2001, which featured Johannes Brahms' Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra and the Stravinsky Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra. The album was also Hahn’s fourth consecutive classical bestseller.
In addition to being a solo violinist, Hahn has also performed as a chamber musician. Since the summer of 1992 she has performed nearly every year with the Skaneateles Chamber Music Festival in Skaneateles, New York. Between 1995 and 2000 she spent performing and studying chamber music at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont, and in 1996 she served as an artist and a member of the chamber music mentoring program of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
Born into a Lutheran family, Hahn moved to Baltimore, Maryland at the age of three and began playing the violin one month before her fourth birthday in the Suzuki Program of Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory (Sony Bio).
Hahn became interested in the violin after taking a walk with her father in their Baltimore neighborhood (Zaustinsky 1999). The two passed a branch of the Peabody Conservatory that advertised music lessons for four-year-olds and observed a music lesson where a young boy was playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Hahn began taking lessons the following week and participated in a Suzuki class for about a year. Hahn’s first solo recital occurred when she was nine and included a Handel Sonata, the "Siciliano" and Presto from J.S.Bach’s unaccompanied Sonata in G Minor, the Wieniawski Caprice in A Minor, the Vitali Chaconne, Glière Romance, and other short pieces (Zaustinsky 1999). Between 1984 and 1989 Hahn studied in Baltimore under the direction of Klara Berkovich. In 1990, at the age of ten, Hahn was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia where she became a student of Jascha Brodsky. Hahn studied with Brodsky for seven years and learned the etudes of Kreutzer, Sevcik, Gaviniès, Rode, as well as the Paganini Caprices. She also learned about twenty-eight violin concertos, recital programs, and several other short pieces (Zaustinsky 1999).
Hahn’s first two years at Curtis were spent commuting twice a week to and from Philadelphia and Baltimore while being home-schooled (Zaustinsky 1999). In 1991, Hahn made her first major orchestral debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Soon thereafter, Hahn debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. In 1992, she began working towards the Curtis Bachelor’s degree at the age of twelve while taking college courses to fulfill her high school requirements.
In 1995 Hahn made her international debut in Germany with a performance of the Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major with Lorin Maazel and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The concert was broadcast on radio and television throughout Europe. A year later, Hahn debuted at Carnegie Hall in New York as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
By the age of sixteen, Hahn had completed the Curtis Institute’s university requirements, but elected to remain at the Institute for several more years to pursue additional elective courses in literature and languages such as western civilization, poetry writing, fiction writing, English, and German (Zaustinksy 1999). During this time she regularly coached violin with Jaime Laredo, and studied chamber music with Felix Galimir and Gary Graffman. While at Curtis, Hahn studied musical subjects such as counterpoint, solfège, harmonic theory, music history, elementary composition and conducting (PBS Interview). However, in an interview with PBS in December 2001, Hahn stated that of all the musical disciplines, she is the most interested in musical performance (PBS Interview). In May of 1999, Hahn graduated from Curtis with a bachelor of music degree.
Hahn has played with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, just to name a few.