Violin Concertos New
Brahms Violin Concerto in D, Op. 77.
Stravinsky Violin Concerto in D.
Hilary Hahn (violin); Academy of St Martin in the Fields/Sir Neville Marriner.
Sony SK89649 (full price, 1 hour 2 minutes). Producer Thomas Frost. Engineer Richard King. Date June 13th and 14th, February 25th, 2001.
Comparisons:
Brahms:
Stern, Philadelphia Orch/Ormandy (Sony) SBK46335
Stravinsky:
Stern, Columbia SO/Stravinsky (Sony) SX22K46290 (22 discs)
Rarely have I heard the Brahms Violin Concerto so commandingly played as here. Those tricky little structural interfaces — the soloist's very first entry, the close of the exposition — which have occasionally put even the greatest violinists of the past under pressure, are hoisted aloft with supreme confidence and ravishing tone. There is not one ugly or forced note throughout the entire performance (surely some kind of record in itself), and right- and left-hand co-ordination — another common problem with Brahms's sometimes awkwardly displaced writing — is immaculate. Hilary Hahn (wisely) uses the time-honoured first-movement cadenza by Joachim and plays it quite magnificently - without the high-octane intensity of Isaac Stern in his Philadelphia/Ormandy scorcher perhaps, but then she attends to the lower end of the dynamic spectrum in a way that was never really part of Stern's style.
Sir Neville and the ASMF are on expert form, supporting Hahn every inch of the way, and the recording could hardly be more flattering in its combination of detail and warmth, with a subtle boost to the solo image. However, when the music really takes flight — as in much of the finale — the orchestra remain resolutely set on 'simmer' rather than being brought to the boil.
Hahn plays the Stravinsky with such beguiling subtlety, emotional warmth and twinkling humour that the usual reservations about the work's reliance on vertical articulation rather than horizontal lyricism simply don't apply here. This was another concerto that Stern (with the composer in support, no less) made very much his own, yet Hahn's and Marriner's espressivo affection and infectious vitality touch the emotional heart of the work in a way I have never heard equalled on disc. Indeed, Hahn's effortless mastery (both technically and musically) of this notoriously demanding score leaves one weak with admiration. A classic account.
Julian Haylock
used by permission
