Customer Reviews

Hilary Hahn Plays Bach

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First off, to compare this recording (made when Hahn was 16) to Milstein's Sonatas and Partitas (made in the prime of his career, and considered one of the 3 or 4 greatest violin recordings of all time), shows how much I think of this one.

Now to be fair, Hahn's performance of the Second Partita is not Milstein's. Milstein's Giga is much fiendishly faster (played without the repeats, as was common in the early 1960s -- Glenn Gould in his piano recordings of Bach always left them out too), and a true baroque gigue. And Milstein's Chaconne! -- well, it is always on the edge -- technically, and in the depths of human emotion, suffering, and transcendance it engenders in the listener. And this is despite the fact that he plays it faster. It is almost impossible to come away from the Milstein recording of the Chaconne without feeling both emotionally exhausted and exhilarated. This remains the definitive performance.

Having said that, the Hahn performance will always have a place in my heart. The sound is rich and full, not ascerbic and vibrato-free like Milstein, the phrasing is delightful (no one could ever claim she hasn't thought through, note by note, what she wants to do); the rubato is judicious. The mellower Chaconne makes it in some ways more enjoyable (you'll never want to sit through listening to the Milstein twice on the same day! but you can repeat the Hahn again and again), though the highlights in this recording are the Sonatas, not the Partita.

I have bought and given copies of this recording to budding young musicians as inspiration. (I'd only dare give the Milstein to those who are emotionally prepared - it should be "R" rated.) Hahn will be around a long time -- she'll get to do it again (Milstein's famous one he did when he was 54, I think, and recorded them again (less well) in his late 70s.)

Buy it. Put it away. Be prepared to take it out again to compare it to what she does when she's 40.

There seems to be an excess of hyperbole among the Amazon reviewers about this recording--they either love it to death or hate it and wonder why a teenager is playing Bach. Personally, this recording has attributes that merit both descriptions without quite meriting the passionate excess.

To review this, I directly compared Hahn's D-minor Partita with Milstein's. Lo and behold, the differences are what one might expect between an older artist and a youthful one who happens to live in an era where technical competancy is much higher.

Milstein wins out in the slow movements where his sense of phrasing and line draw one into the emotions involved. Hahn occassionally falls into the "slower is more profound" mode which causes her to lose the overall line. This is especially apparent in the opening prelude. However, Hahn plays with such a ravishing tone that one can frequently enjoy the moment.

In the faster pieces, Hahn is the clear winner. She remembers the dance aspect of these pieces and plays them with rhythmic punch. Milstein here falls into the "everything Bach produced is profound" mode which makes these too heavy.

In the concluding Chaconne, Milstein rises to greater heights. However, some of Hahn's soft playing is so incredibly beautiful. In addition, although her Chaconne takes longer than Milstein's, it doesn't fall apart--perhaps because the musical form is readily apparent and easy to follow.

All in all, this is a pretty spectacular debut by Ms. Hahn. She gambles by opening her recording career with Bach and, although she doesn't "get" everything in the music, she produces a winning result. Here is a young violinist whose career is worth following. And hopefully, she will remain brave and record things that interest her, rather than just the old warhorses. (Her decision to couple Berstein's Serenade with the Beethoven Concerto is an optimistc sign!)

Hilary Hahn's performance epitomizes Bach at his very best. I am apalled that anyone would think it as boring and dull! If you want a purely baroque sound with no vibrato and no rubato, then this recording is not for you. But the sound that Hilary Hahn can get from her violin is absolutely divine, and the energy in her recording is better than in any I've ever heard. Her phrasing is great, and her voicing is fabulous, especially in the C major fugue. Among the best aspects of the recording, however, is showing different voicings in a single line, which she does with amazing precision. If you love Bach, the real Bach, then this recording is for you!

I have been a great fan of Bach's unaccompanied repertoire for 25 years, since the time when a gifted professor introduced them to my class and described how some of them were transcribed from organ pieces. Bach combined some of the contrapuntal voices into single violin lines, and created resonances that implied the other missing voices. This creates the impression, when these pieces are well played, that there are perhaps two, three or sometimes four instruments playing instead of a single violin. Recently I found a complete recording of Itzhak Perlman's version of these pieces, and I admired as always, his sweet and perfect playing. But when I came across Hilary Hahn's recording by accident, my mouth fell open. Her approach to these pieces is subtly nuanced, full of space and creative implication. It makes Perlman, despite his own brilliance, sound like an elephant by comparison. Ms. Hahn's is a brilliant, beautiful performance. I can't imagine anyone doing more with these pieces, or with such ease. She is purely creative and unique.

Ok...keep in mind that Hilary Hahn was 17 when she recorded these.

Think of that again...

No I didn't say 170...

Ok, in all seriousness...this is an amazing recording of the bach. Her articulation is so clean it's scary, her intonation is perfect, and her expression is very impressive. I don't know what that reviewer who said she is robotic was thinking, but she is anything but. First of all, the way she plays the second movement of the third Partita is fantastically expressive. It's a uphill battle to get that in tune, then another one to connect the chords smoothly. Hahn does both, keeps the melody moving, AND makes it expressive. This totally deserves to be called a great recording, it's one of the very best.

(I should point out that many people have mixed up this recording with Milstein's, though some people COULD tell the difference. It also seems unfair to Mrs. Hahn to keep saying "Ok yea, it's good. Sounds kinda like Milstein")

This woman can play a violin!

I've seen mixed reviews on her. She definitely has her own style and if someone is going to try to compare her playing with Milstein, Szeryng or any of the other greats from the "old school" they will probably be disappointed. Hilary doesn't sound like them, nor is she trying to sound like them. On the contrary she is playing from her heart. She plays the music as she feels it and she does it wonderfully. It's not lacking in anything. Her virtuosity is superb and there is definitely a spiritual depth to her playing. She's very much "into" the music.

I'm very glad to hear someone who can play from the heart instead of trying to reproduce "old-school" expectations. This is what I'm looking for in music. If I ever get to the point where I can play these pieces myself I'm going to play them from the heart too and I'm definitely not going to try to reproduce how other people have interpreted them or believe that they should be played. To me, music is an art of expression, and the individual performer is supposed to play the music how they feel it. This is what music is all about. This is what Hilary Hahn has done with the Bach partitas and sonatas and she's done a magnificent job. She is an exceptional violinist and musician without a doubt.

I find her playing to be very touching and inspirational with great depth. I'm very glad that I bought her performance on CD.

Hilary Hahn's redition of the Bach sonatas and partitas is exquisite. At the time of this recording, Ms. Han was only seventeen, and it is miraculous how much thought, maturity, intelligence, and art she brings to these works. Her playing of the chaconne in the d-minor partita, taken at an unusually slow tempo, is heartbreaking. Her playing of the fugue movement of the third sonata is brilliant. I cannot praise this CD highly enough. My only complaint is that Ms. Hahn has left us with only half a loaf -- when is she finally going to record the other two sonatas and the first partita?

"Smiling, sincere, incorruptible--
Her body disciplined and limber.
A young woman who had become what she could,
And was what she was--
Ready at any moment to gather everything
Into one simple sacrifice"

Compare this recording to those of Grumiaux and Milstein until the sun goes down if you are so disposed--but you'll miss it. Is this the greatest recording of these works ever released? Surely not.

Does this disc present a valid, not to mention beautiful interpretation of Bach's works? Certainly.

Fifty years from now, when all the denizens of the critical ivory towers look back, those still standing will hang their heads in shame that they failed to see in this recording the genesis of one of the greatest musicians of this, and possibly of any, era.

My paraphrase of Hammarskjold above provides what I feel to be an apt description of the young Ms Hahn before she stepped onto her first stage and into history.

If you've not heard her, why not start here? If you have, you'll not need me to persuade you.

I recommend this CD.

There is a quality of peace, beauty and purity in this recording that I have found to be a balm for my battered psyche when nothing else seemed to work.

I do not know what Bach expected or envisioned in a performance of these pieces. But it is awfully hard to imagine him not appreciating this recording. Yes, I do grant what several people have said about Milstein's Chaconne (in particular) being deeper in emotion, etc., but the pure, plain beauty of the sound produced by Hahn and recorded so cleanly by more modern technology (and evidently in a remarkably resonant space) has it own inherent value. It makes me focus on the genius of Bach's very notes themselves, especially in the opening E major Partita. And if you listen carefully, I don't see how anyone could characterize this performance as lacking in creativity - the dynamic range is fantastic, and along with the pacing seems to me to represent a real thoughtfulness about each phrase. I also find that the relatively relaxed tempi add to this effect of simplicity, purity, and beauty, and allow the composer, rather than the virtuosity of the performer, to take center stage. A great recording, in a different, not inferior, sense, when compared to the Old Classics.