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New Hilary Hahn disc

It just came out a week or 2 ago.

I just got it today. She plays Schoenberg and Sibelius. Outstanding! Just thought I would share. Highly recommend it for an excellent Schoenberg, followed by a modern and very interesting interpretation of Sibelius, this disc is easily one of the best I purchased for a year or so.

My only reservation is with DG recording approach. Their discs lately lack a bit of clarity and separation. I guess they try to tame digital nasties to make the recording sound more natural, but unfortunately this results in slight loss of clarity in the orchestral string section, boosted bass and a bit of an overall boomy presentation. Hahn's previous recording of Paganini suffers from the same bug. But it is not that bad, and the music is outstanding, so it easily makes up for everything else.

Schoenberg violin concerto is a rare commodity. Especially when it is performed on this level.

This is definitely a must have.
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gsm18439
895 posts
 
Also a rave review on Positive-Feedback.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
DG CD's generally are below par in my book. But they (the German's/European's) think they sound good. It may have something to do with the typical type of audio system's they have versus us.

As far as Hilary Hahn: I think she is a very fine violinist, but no better or worse than any of the young generic artists out there. There is a huge swarm of young Asian and Russian artists out there; and one cute white female American. No wonder she stands out in the media. Same reason she wins awards. I've heard her play live a half dozen times in Baltimore (her home region), so I know what she sounds like outside a tightly controlled and manipulated recording situation. Very very good player, but nothing special or different to my ears.

Sarah Chang as just one example, is at a completely different (much higher) level of playing. They are the same age. The Media and the Public just assume Sarah is from Asia, but she was actually born and raised in Philadelphia. She is even much better live than on media, which is as it should be.
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audphile1 OP
4,919 posts
 
Gsm18439, thanks for mentioning that review. I just read it. Very nice, with a well written intro mentioning Schoenberg's string quartets, which are among my favorite string quartets.

I have all of Hilary Hahn recordings. I think she is one of, if not, THE best today and will even improve as she matures.

For now it seems the music she thrives in is 20th century. Her Elgar, Stravinsky, Bernstein, Barber and now Schoenberg and Sibelius are excellent. One exception is Shostakovich(still very good though), which I wish she records again at a later stage of her career. With Shostakovich, Oistrakh is still at the top. Hahn's recording of that concerto was clearly a bit too early for her.

She is an amazing musician. I wonder what will her next recording bring.
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