This album received the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance with Orchestra.
Violinist Hilary Hahn made her mark on the musical map not simply as a 12-year-old prodigy possessed of dazzling technical ability, but as an intelligent, insightful, and confident artist with a determination not to play it safe. As such, she's eschewed the tried and true programming choices from the standard repertoire in favor of more challenging and provocative fare. On this recital disc, her fourth for Sony Classical, she offers the juxtaposition of the seemingly disparate concertos of Brahms and Stravinsky.
Despite the obvious stylistic differences between the two works, there is an undeniable and prevailing commonality--both compositions are grounded in the traditions of the form, yet each in its own way stretches the boundaries of the genre and strives to move beyond accepted conventions. Hahn's expert reading of these demanding scores, lucid and intense with a sophistication and maturity that belies her youth, goes a long way toward proving this to be an inspired pairing, the lush lyricism of the Brahms balanced by Stravinsky's sprightly, neo-classical approach. Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields provide fine support for Hahn throughout this satisfying program, one that fuels the anticipation of her future musical explorations.