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)
Audrey! Really cool write-up about Ms. Hahn; the pieces that you provided videos for were diverse enough to really get a sense of her talents and ability to transcend traditional boundaries.
ReplyDeleteThe video of her playing the Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 5 with the beatbox guy really is "out of this world", and an unexpected treat to listen to. What I like most about that video is that you can see Hahn smile in amusement as Beardyman changes beat patterns and makes all sorts of incredible noises. This opens a window into Hahn's character and corroborates your statement that she is not arrogant and self-centered, despite her success. She truly enjoys playing, performing, and collaborating.
I would like to hear a little more in depth as to why you like Hahn's playing. You mention her "incredible technique and grace", but do her interpretations of standard rep stand out to you as well? The energy and youthful spirit in her Brahms Concerto was refreshing to hear, but, then again, I don't often listen to violin soloists (I stick to the cellists!), and don't have as good of a grounding in the area as you do.
Good idea plugging our concert tomorrow!
The violin is a beautiful instrument. For some reason, I enjoy listening to it more on its own than within an orchestra, or some other form of ensemble. I’m interested in this artist; does she only focus on playing classical pieces, or does she write her own modern work as well? Her collaborations with more popular performers is entertaining, but I have to say she stands out a bit in regards to pure effect, especially with Beardyman. Literal instruments in the context of common vernacular are always much more powerful and legitimate to me than a guy spitting into a mic. I don’t see a comparison between that and a hand-crafted violin.
ReplyDeleteHilary Hahn is primarily known for her work in the classical world. I posted the extra videos as an illustration of the amazing amount of things you can do with a good classical training background. :) So no, this is not her norm, but definitely exciting to watch and listen to.
ReplyDeleteWow, I had no idea Hahn was so talented. She really seems to have brought classical music into the arena with pop music. Perhaps one day we can compete evenly with their success to younger generations!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you chose to write about this artist. Like I said above, classical music seems to have lost its flare with younger, newer generations, and it's really heart warming to see that someone has started to build bridges in the right direction to kind of bring pop music out of the dark ages of electronically enhanced voices and synthesizers. I mean, they don't even air the grammy's awarded to classical musicians on TV with the rest of the awards! Anyway, I also think its really awesome that you admire her for this, instead of hating her for it because she didn't really stay true to her classically trained background. I think it's important that we as artists find as many methods of performing as possible and I really admire Ms. Hahn for this as well!
Thanks for the post!
I must say Hilary Hahn is one of the most polished violinists out there today. I remember seeing her play the Mendelssohn concerto with the LA Phil a number of years ago, and I recall that the amount of bravura and power she was able to produce was pretty remarkable. Especially for someone with such a tiny voice and innocent appearance.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who knew Hilary Hahn when she was at Curtis, and he said that when she was on the road touring she still would turn in all of her school work and would record herself doing aural skills while traveling. I thought that was kind of humorous.
I think that it is always refreshing in a way to see today's classical musicians having fun with their art (as in the last video you posted), rather than always keeping so serious with what they do.