Schoenberg Violin Concerto Op.36/Sibelius Violin Concerto Op.47
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Free Music Notes for Schoenberg Violin Concerto Op.36/Sibelius Violin Concerto Op.47
Free Music Review: Schoenberg Violin Concerto
Hit: 5 Stars
The first thing I want to say in regards to this recording is, thank you. I've waited for a new recording of the Schoenberg Violin Concerto for years and Hahn/Salonen/Swedish RSO present near perfection. The previous reviews already cover a lot of ground and I'll try not to repeat too much.
Schoenberg is feared, his music "unapproachable, sterile, mathmatical." I say no. I've been an active Schoenberg fan for nearly 20 years. I love Bach, I love Beethoven. Schoenberg in many regards is following in that tradition, his music an extension or continuation of what they and Brahms and Wagner were doing with chromatic harmony and the formal structure of their music. Schoenberg simply took it one step further. I think the difficulty listeners find when approaching Schoenberg is following the melodic line. In my opinion there is no doubt it is trickier than tonal writing at least because, for the most part, tonal music is what we are familiar with. It takes effort for the listener to get used to this but the reward is a world of sound not available in tonal music.
I don't get overly caught up in how Schoenberg used the 12 note system (and whatever label you choose to apply to it). I hear the music as personal expression. He was, to my ears, a romantic composer, looking for ever more harmonic color and a master of counterpoint. At his best his music could be described as "hyper-romantic." For two examples other than his Violin Concerto, his Piano Concerto packs plenty of emotion as he describes leaving 1930's Germany behind and adjusting to California and his new life, and his Variations for Orchestra (see the Karajan version) presents simply HUGE romanticism.
As for the recording at hand, transcending music theory and making music that speaks is its strength. No reason to expand on that subject as previous reviews have covered at length how well this recording succeeds on that level. I will voice a complaint about the recording which is that I wish the orchestra playing was a little closer in the mix, more of a close-mic sound. Schoenberg's orchestrations are rich and some of the inner detail of the part writing is lost here. But make no mistake, this is an otherwise beautiful sounding recording.
I look forward hearing the Sibelius but right now I just can't get past this wonderful Schoenberg. Bravo!
Free Music Review: Hahn, Sch?nberg, and the Greatest Violin Concerto...
Hit: 5 Stars
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Ms. Hahn's brilliant realization of Sch?nberg's masterwork is absolute artistry of the highest order.
Mlle. Hahn has really done something remarkable here: she has deeply understood this piece not merely as an intellectual exercise, but sincerely as the profoundly moving passionately expressive work of art it is.
Hahn has illustrated trenchant insight here with crystal-clarity of vision.
She not only has the vast technical ability to execute the many challenges the work incorporates--(viz., pizzicato, double-stopping, glissandi, etc.)--but she has the maturity and psychic gravitas to appreciate the exquisite beauty of Sch?nberg's text.
She apprehends each section and passage--each phrase and sentence--and elucidates Sch?nberg's entire statement as a whole.
She reveals the singing, hyper-Romantic/Brahmsian melodies with great beauty while punctuating the echt-Modernistic dodecaphonic argument with precision.
The Swedish RSO also does an outstanding job with Sch?nberg's colourful and multifaceted score.
Bravo! Encore!!
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In addition: Ms. Hahn perfectly realizes the popular Sibelius Concerto. Methought I had wearied of the work through overexposure; well!--Ms. Hahn revitalizes the piece with thrilling panache.
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In conclusion: this gracious lady is a genuine artist with extraordinary talent and prescient vision.
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P.S.: there is a classic older reading by Zvi Zeitlin with Rafael Kubelik and the Bavarian Radio SO:
Berg: Violin Concerto; Schoenberg: Piano Concerto; Violin Concerto
Berg: Violin Concerto/Schoenberg: Violin Concerto
Schoenberg: Piano Concerto Op.42/Violin Concerto Op.36/Berg:Violin Concerto/Kubelik
Schoenberg (Master Musicians Series)
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Free Music Review: More Hilary Hahn, Please
Hit: 5 Stars
I am lucky enough to live in a part of the world frequented by artists of the highest caliber; with respect to violinists, in the past few years, this has included Anne-Sophie Mutter, Gil Shaham, Maxim Vengerov, Andrew Manze, Joshua Bell, Midori, and more. I have seen Hilary Hahn seven times, both in concerto and recital performances, and her appearances stand out among the rest. That is remarkable, given her willingness to bridge chasms of genre from Bach to Stravinsky, Paganini to Schoenberg, with all of them exceptionally played (I do admit that I find her Mozart --with Zhu -- a bit sterile, my tastes running to the Podger-Cooper Sonata recordings, but I'm hoping that the new Lisitsa pairing will revitalize her recital appearances). I will concede that I have made the geeky trek backstage to meet-the-artists events, and found her every bit as personable as she is talented.
The Schoenberg-Sibelius album, then, is not so remarkable as it is consistent with her genius. I worry about the reviews that precede mine and their emphasis on the difficulty (and alien qualities) of the Schoenberg, that they might make potential buyers shy away from this disc. Miss Hahn's abilities and enthusiasm for the piece disguise its otherness, to the point where it seems organic with the majority of major works of the 20th century: a fan of Shostakovich' Seventh or Prokofiev's Sixth will not feel lost among the notes played here.
Miss Hahn has carved out a violinist's niche in the Classical world much the same as Cecilia Bartoli's in the vocal arena: she has a loyal fan base (me among them) who will follow her wherever she chooses to go. And her artistry has earned her that loyalty.
Free Music Review: Impressive on every level
Hit: 5 Stars
As a fan of the Sibelius concerto, I was anxious to hear Hilary Hahn's version of the piece. I think that this concerto shows Hilary Hahn at her absolute finest and that she continues to mature as an artist. There is more restraint and tension and power and sheer emotion, than I think I have heard in any other piece that she has recorded. And that is saying something. The playing of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra is as fine as any I have ever heard in any concerto recording ever. The attention to detail in the score is exceptional. The balance between the soloist and the orchestra is perfect, the recorded sound flawless. This is just pure perfection.
Some might have called this a highly commercial recording. What it is, is a highly successful recording. The pairing this time of the Sibelius with the lesser known Schoenberg getting first billing, shows Hilary Hahns artistic authority and maturity.
The Schoenberg concerto was something new to me, and I am still getting to know it. It's a rather modern piece to my ear, and the violin part sounds very difficult. Hahn handles it flawlessly, as usual, and the solist and orchestra again seem to be of one mind. Schoenberg is certainly a change of pace from the usual works that are so often recorded. The two pieces, Sibelius and Schoenberg make a good paring (do to the contrasts) however and after all the intricacies of the Schoenberg, the Sibelius is just the right remedy with all of its warm lyrical romanticism. But it, get to know it, and enjoy it!
P.S. Upon further listenings... the Schoenberg is most certainly music, despite what you might read elsewhere.
The Schoenberg is an expression human emotion, conflict and peace. It is the intricate details of thought, dissonant, often removed. And the piece seems to me to be very personal, expressing real sentiment. The early middle 20th century in which Schoenberg lived was often a turbulant time, full of questions, often without answers. Music is not melody alone, and yet the Schoenberg does contain melody, and many melodies. Not the long romantic melodies of say a Tchaikovsky, but precise, concise melodies, snippets of shifting thought contrasted against deep reflections. I would say of the orchestration that it is very colorful, percussive and full of tension, vitality. It sets you on edge. It is not completely removed from the musical world of Stravinsky's violin concerto, more modern and yet in a more traditional concerto construct. It is an intellectual concerto in my opinion, that I am still learning better with each listening.
Free Music Review: Clearly she's among the giants
Hit: 5 Stars
I'm absolutely astonished with this recording. I'm an old string player with a doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music and I have studied the Schoenberg Concerto for years. I know firsthand just how difficult it is (you literally have to learn a new way to finger some passages, using your ring finger and not the pinky for the highest notes because the ring finger can reach farther up on lower strings!).
But the difficulties are not only technical: the piece is VERY romantic and it's EXCEPTIONALLY hard to bring that to it. I never hoped in my lifetime to hear a recording of this concerto as natural and lyrical as this one. Hahn has captured perfectly the atmosphere and drama of the piece. This could easily do for the Schoenberg Concerto what Isaac Stern's recording of the Berg Concerto did for that work.
My amazement is made the more so by the fact that for years I resisted even listening to Hahn's recordings: too young, couldn't be ready for the works she was performing. When I finally did condescend to hear her, I immediately bought everything she had ever done. She's a superb performer (she and Janine Jansen are arguably the two most musical young violinists on the scene today; and Jansen has shown no signs of being nearly as adventurous).
But when I heard she had recorded the Schoenberg Concerto, I have to admit that even with that background, I was skeptical. The work is just too much - it's tempting to think that it's too much for a human being. I'm glad I never gave in to thinking that: now I know it isn't true. This recording is amazing!
About Salonen little need be said: everything he touches turns to gold. The orchestra, of course, could easily have ruined things; that they rise to the level demanded by such a superb soloist and conductor speaks volumes for their remarkable abilities. I look forward to hearing much more from them.
The Schoenberg Violin Concerto has finally joined the Piano Concerto as a major brainchild of the composer, not merely a respected but unheard stepsister. I know it's not quite so adventuresome, Hilary, but perhaps a Berg Concerto to go with this one? At the right tempi, which I know you (unlike so many) will find?