Hilary Hahn

By: Evelyn Bleu

Hilary Hahn: an inspirational and dedicated musician. One thing that intrigued me about Hahn was that she took Suzuki method lessons. This inspired me to further research her because I also took Suzuki method lessons while learning how to play the violin. I wanted to see how this impacted her style of playing. She also exposed younger audiences to classical music which quickly enthralled me because many professionals do not place much effort to do this. I also found it interesting that she plays Bach’s music more than any other composer.

Hilary Hahn was born on November 27, 1979, in Lexington, Virginia. Hahn started playing the violin in the Suzuki Program of Baltimore’s Peabody Institute for one year, one month before she turned four. Hahn studied under Klara Berkovich in Baltimore from 1984 to1989. At age ten, Hahn attended the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and studied under Jascha Brodsky. At age 11, she made her major orchestral debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Soon after, in the mid-‘90s, she appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1996, Hahn debuted at Carnegie Hall in New York as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Although she could have graduated when she was 16, Hahn continued her education at Curtis Institute of Music for additional courses and graduated at age 19 in 1999. By then, she had made two recordings under her exclusive contract with Sony. Hilary Hahn plays Bach and the Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade received positive reviews.

An album of hers “In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores” was released on November 11, 2013 and recorded at the Teldex Studio in Berlin, Germany. On the album, Cory Smythe accompanies Hahn on all 27 songs on the piano. The idea for “In 27 Pieces: the Hilary Hahn Encores” began to take shape when Hilary noticed that new encore pieces were not being showcased as much as other types of contemporary works. Shorter pieces remain a crucial part of every violinist’s education and repertoire, and Hilary believed that potential new favorites should be encouraged and performed as well. Before hiring a composer, she did a great amount of research about them and their musical works. She explored the music of all the composers before personally contacting them and then she ran a blind online contest with open submissions to find the 27th composer for her album.

I enjoyed Hilary’s album “In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores.”Each of her songs tells a different story, yet they still complement one another very well. While listening to her album, I realized she did an excellent job of conveying her emotions through the music. I also really loved how the piano accompanied her music and helped keep a steady pulse. My favorite musical element that she incorporated into her work was her dynamics and her impeccable tone on those high notes. A couple of songs on this album that stood out to me were “Ali-Zadeh: Impulse” and “133...At Least.” I felt that they created the most vivid imagery. For instance, “133...At Least” sounded as if someone was being chased.ut toward the end of the piece, I began to feel a somber energy which gave me the impression of death.

Hilary Hahn is an extremely talented musician and has achieved a great sound through her determination. Hilary’s sound is unique in the sense that she utilizes a lot of both quick, short bowing, while using just as much legato. However, this does not become overwhelming throughout her music as she consistently creates a balanced sound. In addition, I observed that she incorporates many double stops and lifts the bow often, but maintains a clean sound. Hahn has a beautiful tone quality that is not altered even when she comes down to very high notes on the fingerboard. Another musical element that adds to her sound is how she masters the dynamics in her work and quickly shifts from piano to fortissimo. One of the elements I would like to take from Hahn and integrate into my playing is her tone quality, especially when I cross strings or play at a quick tempo. I think I can accomplish this by working on placing my bow on different areas of the strings depending on what kind of tone I want to achieve. Another one of Hahn’s musical elements I want to incorporate into my playing is her great dynamic skills which I think can be done by focusing on bow pressure exercises. Hilary Hahn is an exceptional musician who has perfected her playing techniques through her hard work and perseverance.