People that have heard of Hilary Hahn probably know her for her work on the motion picture soundtrack of The Village. However, in the classical world, Hahn is also known for her incredible musicality and command over her instrument. The 29-year-old, 2-time Grammy-winning violinist is well known internationally and performs with orchestras around the world year after year.
If you have time, take a listen (this is an audio file from her album) to her 2001 Grammy-winning recording of the third movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto:
I love YouTube. A couple weeks ago, I also discovered a few clips of her collaboration with other artists, namely American folk-rock singer-songwriter, Josh Ritter, and British beatbox master, Beardyman. One of my favorite things to do with music is mixing styles and mediums of art to collaborate with others from other fields (like a musical with a character that plays the violin, or a really exceptional violinist collaborating with a pop/rock singer). Seeing a concert violinist collaborating with these kinds of artists is so rare, that I was so excited when I found this. And now I am just as excited to share it with you!
Here’s her performing Girl in the War with Josh Ritter from his album The Animal Years. If you want to read more about their collaboration, check out this article.
And for something really out of this world, here’s her with Beardyman at the Digital, Life, Design (DLD) Conference in Munich:
I remember being introduced to Hilary Hahn when I was 9, receiving my first Hilary Hahn CD, Hilary Hahn Plays Bach (1997), and being totally amazed. Ten years later, and while my classical palate has matured, I still love her grace and incredible technique. To me, she represents not only a fantastic artist, but a humble and personable one as well. Too often, there are artists (and this is not just limited to musicians) that are so high on their mighty horse that they have little time to respect their fans and be grateful for the opportunity they have been given to share their talent with the world. Hilary Hahn is definitely not one of them.
For example, something I love about her is that she is an avid writer who keeps her own blog from her website called Hilary’s Journal. She posts from her various adventures when she has down time on tours. From her entries, readers get a peek into her life and personality. She states, “If you're curious to find out what it's like to be a nomadic classical musician, a violinist, a 28-year-old, a modern instrumental troubadour, or just a woman looking at the world around her, you've come to the right place.” Since I discovered her online journal a couple months ago, I have really enjoyed reading her little “anecdotes”, as she calls them. Enjoy and take a read! :0)
