Barber & Meyer Violin Concertos
Winner of the 2001 Cannes Classical Award in the Solo/Orchestra 20th Century category
Violinist Hilary Hahn premieres a new violin concerto written for her by American composer Edgar Meyer on a new CD which also features Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto. Joining Hahn for the recording are conductor Hugh Wolff and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, with whom she collaborated in the world premiere performances of the Meyer concerto just a few days before the recording was made.
A composer and double bass virtuoso equally at home in classical and traditional American music, Meyer is -- like Hahn -- an exclusive Sony Classical artist. The label commissioned the violin concerto for Hahn.
"I could not be happier that a work with so much spirit, power, dramatic range and lyrical beauty is dedicated to me," Hahn said in describing the work, which she calls "a superb and challenging concerto by one of the most original composers writing in the late twentieth century."
Coupled with it is a more established work that also has strong ties to the Curtis Institute of Music -- the Violin Concerto of American composer Samuel Barber. Barber, a Curtis alumnus, wrote his concerto in 1939 as a commission for a young violinist and Curtis graduate who was displeased with the final results. It was another Curtis student, Herbert Baumel, who proved -- in an impromptu test -- that the concerto's finale was not "unplayable" as had been suggested. Baumel gave the unofficial first performance of the concerto with the school's orchestra, led by Fritz Reiner, though the official premiere came in 1941 with violinist Albert Spalding and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy.
Hahn's recordings for Sony Classical include a disc of Bach solo violin music and a recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto and Leonard Bernstein's Serenade with David Zinman conducting the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Debuting with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Lorin Maazel:
"Hilary Hahn... belongs to those rare talents which one encounters once in a century."
Süddeutscher Zeitung
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America's Best!
Time Magazine has named Hilary Hahn "America's Best" young classical musician in their July 9, 2001 issue! She's the only classical musician included in their special feature profiling America's highest achievers in the arts and entertainment.
Postcards from the Road
Hilary continues her popular online journal in which she describes what she's seeing and doing during her travels, both onstage and off... with photos!
Grammy Nominee
Hilary was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Instrumental Soloist (with Orchestra) for her second album which featured the Beethoven Violin Concerto and Bernstein's Serenade
Keynote speaker
Read the text of Hilary's keynote speech presented June 15, 2000 for the American Symphony Orchestra League National Conference!
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