Saturday 16 January 2010

Bach - Violin Concerto 2 [Hahn/Kahane-Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra]

This is the best thing Hilary Hahn has done, the whole package, disc, booklet, back inlay, is so well thought out, this is what every new album release should be like, an extra special mention should be made of the booklet cover shot, taken by Kasskara, it's a superb photographic document, the graphics and colour scheme are just perfect, the same can be said for the back inlay, Deutsche Grammophon can really get it right sometimes.

Recorded with an ideal sized Chamber Orchestra, in lovely modern sound, you can hear the textures of everything, Hahn isn't sound volume dominant, she has to compete with everyone else being heard.

I so much enjoyed Concerto No2 [BWV 1042] this time, the first movement has such a memorable tune, it's a headlong tour de force, such an exuberance from Hahn, she sounds like she's in the same room, i especially love the way she blends in and out of the the violin string section, camouflaging herself as a group at one moment, and then revealing herself as a soloist at the next moment.

You can hear her in the first movement of this Concerto on YouTube, and her Website is actually quite personal, see for yourself.