Customer Reviews

Schoenberg Violin Concerto Op.36/Sibelius Violin Concerto Op.47

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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?

The Schoenberg violin concerto is widely admired and widely studied, but it isn't much played, and it's never been much loved. This is partly because of the huge technical hurdles it presents fiddlers, but also because it isn't especially easy to bring off musically; in this regard it is unlike the piano concerto, say, which is far more accessible, and which offers up at least some of its beauties simply by being played accurately. I've heard most of the violin concerto performances previously committed to disc and never found them very pleasing; the soloist always seems to be eating his spinach like a good boy. As a consequence, I've always taken it to be one of Schoenberg's more rebarbative works, like the thoroughly unpleasant wind quintet. But Hillary Hahn has located the romantic soul of the piece --- she seems to see in it a kinship to a work like the Brahms concerto --- and delivers a performance that is not only technically thrilling but also very moving. It has fundamentally changed my opinion of this concerto; the score's mastery no longer feels predominantly theoretical, but rather, is characteristic of Schoenberg's masterpieces, big, generous-hearted, romantic.
The Sibelius performance is impeccable as well, but good performances of that very popular piece aren't so hard to come by. The Schoenberg is the reason to buy this CD.

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!

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Ms. Hahn's brilliant realization of Schönberg'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 Schönberg's text.
She apprehends each section and passage--each phrase and sentence--and elucidates Schönberg'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 Schönberg'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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It'd be tempting to say the classical music recording industry is in great shape when the Schoenberg on this disc is the primary work and the Sibelius is the "flip-side." But a look at much of the rest of the industry shows that this is an anomaly...still, we'll take what we can get. This wonderful CD starts off with a delightfully *lyrical,* yes, lyrical, reading of the Schoenberg concerto. If this performance doesn't make you fall in love with it, nothing will. It's not at the caliber of the Berg VC (what is?), but it shouldn't be as neglected as it is either, and maybe this recording will do something to change that. Using long lines, lots of expressive vibrato and a singing tone, Ms. Hahn makes the work sound practically romantic. The cadenza is dazzling and shows what a tremendous virtuoso she is (how does she manage the stretches with her apparently small hands?) and what a mature musician. This is a very intelligent interpretation. Salonen is right at home in this kind of music, so it should be no surprise that his support is top-notch, especially in the delicate shadings. Many small instrumental details emerge thanks to the superb balance and understanding of the tiny details of this piece. The clarity is impressive--reminiscent of Boulez, but with more feeling. I heard elements in the orchestra accompaniment I'd never noticed before.

The same is true of the Sibelius. Here I felt Hahn's tone wasn't quite as distinctive or confident, but her freedom with the line is fascinating and again Salonen reveals tiny details in the accompaniment I'd never noticed before. (I don't own a score.) Hahn plays the most rhapsodic cadenza in the first movement I've ever heard, and the result is wonderful. Again, balances of violin vs. orchestra are perfect--one never intrudes on the other and we hear details that are often lost in this music in even some of the best readings. I'd recommend this disc highly to those who love either of these pieces, and I hope DG lets HH continue to record challenging repertoire like this instead of pushing her into yet another Four Seasons.

Schoenberg is an acquired taste. As hard as it is to go from sugary to bitterly dietary food, it is to allow your verbal musical pallette to embrace such harshness and brusqueness into that comfort zone. But why bother, you ask? Because being an artist myself, yes, a human being can like and dislike things, but you want to be able to explore other art and see what it is and why it is. Besides, I'm also a fan of violin concertos (And of Hilary Hahn as well).

I know that when I was young, almost all of these composers from the 20th century sounded weird compared to Bach and Beethoven--Everybody from Stravinsky to Copland gave me some sense of change and development along the classical music timeline, but even Ravel's and Bartok's music had such rich and lush melody to swim through. Schoenberg (Lord knows I've come up with way too many metaphors by now; In the scheme of tests, it's like the Roraschach; In the scheme of games, it's like 'Where's Waldo?', etc.) is still a bit rough around the edges, forcing you to either fight or flight. I have to say, though, I really like it more than I did when this CD came out.

I think I expected Hilary's recording to be huge given that it had gotten 5-star reviews before it was even released in the US, but when I played it the first time, it left me with a cold feeling, and after only 2 listens, I actually felt the need to tell Hilary Hahn after the Met concert earlier this year that I was disappointed with the piece (not her performance), then I felt bad about that later because this was the night of the CD launch party. She'd been doing a lot of performing and travelling that week--This might not have been the best time to say that, so please forgive me, Hilary! :)

Having said this, I'd been listening to other music of Schoenberg's with a decidedly unbiased ear (The Piano pieces, the Piano Concerto, Verklarte Nacht, earlier solo violin pieces, Zvi Zeitlin's recording of the VC from 1972, etc.) and it's been very helpful. It just takes a different set of ears for you (Depending on what your ears are like to begin with) to prep for Schoenberg's music.

I look at it from this perspective as well: Those of you that listen to jazz (Particularly the avant-garde or "free" jazz recordings of Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman) probably know that when you're listening to that music, you're not necessarily trying to pin down every single note in your mind, but it's madness creates some kind of beauty that you become honed into.
Music can have a very immediate great impression on you, an immediate bad one, or even a DELAYED one, and I believe it was the third for me. Goes to show you how fluid our tastes can be sometimes (Hey, even hip-hop music has that effect on me).

Now that I've managed to do that, I can fully embrace this recording, and say it's a classic.
In addition to this, I'm very happy that A) we're seeing history being made as Hilary manages to popularize a piece that really hadn't been given much of a chance during Schoenberg's day (Historic also for the fact that Hilary's was the first Schoenberg recording to debut or chart at number 1 on a Billboard chart), and B) we're hearing the performance of a lifetime from this world-class soloist!

Plus, another thing I think I should add that I didn't think to mention in the first few drafts is that FRAME OF MIND accounts for almost everything. I might have been in a blue state (No, not a Electorally Democratic one, I mean a sad one) when I listened to the concerto those first few times, and Schoenberg doesn't exactly work for that! :) Hilary Hahn is a truly fantastic musician, and I've been a huge fan of hers for several years, so you would think that she'd get at least some biased kudos from me in the first place--Didn't happen this time! But I consider that a good thing since you want to judge things fairly.

BTW, I think the gorgeous Sibelius Concerto makes a really cool reward for getting through the Schoenberg! ;)

This review doesn't touch on the Schoenberg - almost without exception, all other reviewers praise Ms Hahn's recording of it, and I agree with them completely. It's the reaction to the Sibelius which fascinates me: very divided, with more tending to be negative. Too bland, cold and detached. I strongly disagree.

The Sibelius has always struck me as structurally disjointed, particularly the first movement. Musical ideas appear and subside, half-developed, with little sense of architecture. It was only when I heard the original version of the concerto, recorded (on BIS) for the first time by Greek violinist, Leonidas Kavakos, that I understood how these disparate ideas were in truth connected when originaly woven together. The substantially revised version of the work (invariably heard today) pared much of the music back to its stark raw material, which familiarity has helped us to smooth over.

Ms Hahn's reading of the work restores that greater sense of unity found in the original version. She achieves this by avoiding sudden extremes in mood and tempi. Her arcs are smoother and longer, allowing the musical ideas room to breathe, to evolve naturally from one to another.

Many ears find the result lacking in romatic fire and disappointing. On the contrary, Ms Hahn's reading is intensely brooding and contemplative in the first movement, wonderfuly melodic in the second, and naturally rhapsodic in the third. Her playing throughout is never harsh or forced, but radiant and lyrical. Which is not to say she never plays with fire: listen to the 2 notes that open the cadenza in the first movement at 7:15-7:20. They strike terror in me every time I hear them.

True it is that Ms Hahn's reading is slightly unorthodox, but it captures that quintessentially Finnish aura found in Sibelius' symphonies and orchestral works better than most other recordings. Her playing is of the highest order, the balance with the SRSO is spot on, and Mr Salonen's conducting is superb, revealing previosuly unheard nuances in the score.

Five stars.

This recording pairs two concerti that, despite the obvious differences in tonal language, have much in common: both are large-scale, impassioned and, at times, achingly lyrical works that require technical mastery and musical maturity from both soloist and orchestra.
As far as the Schoenberg goes, Hahn and Salonen meet these challenges unabashedly; it is the most well-controlled yet lyrical recording of this sadly underplayed masterpiece I know. Schoenberg's musical language--so difficult for so many listeners--is brought to life with remarkable clarity and, more importantly, treated with a lovely musicality that sings out the Romantic beauty of the work.
However, while Schoenberg's lyricism generally reveals itself in shorter bursts, Sibelius's is positively epic; and that's where this recording falls short. Despite admirable playing, neither Hahn nor Salonen seem to be able to stay on course in the Laplandian hugeness of this piece and often end up sounding somewhat lost in the expanse. (For a masterful and simply gorgeous performance of this work, I'd recommend Mutter/Previn on DG.)
Nonetheless, one could do far worse as far as the Sibelius goes; and, in any case, the Schoenberg itself is worth the price of the disc.

I was not a fan of Schoenberg's violin concerto until I heard Hahn's version. She plays with astonishing technique, and Salonen is the right conductor for the job. The excellent audio quality also helped quite a bit. Personally, I would never consider another recording of the piece after listening to this one - it made me see music in it, whether previously I had only heard math. Bravo.

The Sibelius, however, was to me extremely disappointing. Both Hahn and Salonen are cold and detached. I felt her playing completely lacked in passion and imagination - it's as if she didn't care for the piece. The third movement displays her fantastic technique, but the first two are almost painful to listen to, since they murder and bury all the passion and feeling in Sibelius' score. To me, there is no greater version than Christian Ferras', who plays it with the despair of a madman, and rightfully so.

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 Hahn's 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. Hilary 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.