Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade
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Free Music Notes for Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade
Free Music Review: An amazing talent
Hit: 5 Stars
Ms. Hahn plays the Beethoven beautifully, but I would hardly have expected any less. If you like the violin then you owe it to yourself to get all of her CDs.Free Music Review: A compelling performance.
Hit: 5 Stars
Too bad Hahn doesn't have better backup. Zinman is OK but nothing special. How about Gergiev next time? Or Haitink?Free Music Review: She can do no wrong!
Hit: 5 Stars
I hope Hahn also rounds out the unaccompanied Bach at some pointFree Music Review: Delightful
Hit: 4 Stars
I heard Hahn perform live not too long ago and found her to be somewhat obvious in her interpretation at times. This was a big disappointment, given all the hype that has surrounded her in the last few years, but at the time I attributed it to playing to a small audience in a hick town (my apologies to my fellow Athenians--but they know it's true). So I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to this recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto: not only is Hahn's performance technically flawless, but she brings a freshness of interpretation that is far from childish or obvious. From her first appearance in the Allegro ma non troppo, Hahn's clear tone and fearless attack take center stage. Her presence is somewhat muted in the Larghetto, but in the final Rondo/allegro she achieves a depth of expression that is quite simply sublime. Certain moments in her performance will quite literally take your breath away, because you will be listening so closely that you will be holding your breath to hear every nuance.Add to this Richard King's excellent job of engineering and you have a recording that is at once bright and personal, focused and enveloping. This is not simply a recording of a masterpiece, it is also a masterpiece of recording, and the technical staff deserve special mention: the producer Thomas Frost, King as recording engineer, Andreas Meyer as assistant and editing engineer, and Mark Betts the technical supervisor, have produced an exceptional CD.
My only reservation about this recording is the choice of the "b-side", if you will. Bernstein's Serenade, while refreshing and satisfying in places (one thinks particularly of the opening of the Phaedrus section [my own favorite], or the Socrates section), just isn't a good companion piece for the Beethoven. I suppose one reason for including it is to show off Hahn's command of the various genres of the repertoire--and her playing remains convincing on the "b-side"--but I think that artistically it winds up hurting the album more than helping it. Unless one is in the right mood, one is probably going to switch off the CD player after the 3rd track more often than not.
Free Music Review: Some passion missing...
Hit: 4 Stars
I like Hahn's choice of tempos and her vision of Beethoven op. 61. The violinist sometimes compared to Heifetz takes considerably slower tempos than him, almost like Oistrakh. In this case I happen to agree with Oistrakh & Hahn. Compared to the old Russian master, however, I think some passion is missing here. The first movement may feel long-drawn-out when not played an interesting way, and that is my feeling, especially compared to Oistrakh's passionate performance under Ehrling's baton and his almost ceremonial under Cluytens.
No, I don't regret having Hahn/Zinman in my shelf, although it isn't my first choice and I use to be slightly bored towards the end of the first movement. It is elegant and there is a delicate ambience about it, much more to my taste than most other performances. My four stars only, because Oistrakh sets the standards for five stars performances of this piece very high, indeed. A good thing more about the present recording is that production values are high.
I don't have any other Bernstein serenade, so in that case I have no idea whether there are better performances out there or not.