Mendelssohn & Shostakovich: Violin Concertos

I'm not going to pretend to be some internet blogging music critic. Nor do I have any experience with Classical Music. What I do know is this. This young lady is an amazing musician and her playing is beautiful, haunting, ferocious, heart warming, uplifting, chilling, etc., etc. ! Put simply, I love this compilation and am thankful to Ms. Hahn for opening my ears to Classical Music.

I want a total of $3.00 back from iTunes because I’ve bought one song 2 times and finally now it’s downloading!!!

With this album, Hahn's technique is showcased along with the orchestra and the Shostakovich (Concerto in A Minor) especially shows the different techniques used as is required at her level. She really ups the ante with these concertos.

Im so excited to play the mendelssohn for my senior piece!! I have bought other versions of this song but hilary's tops them all! The precision as well as the speed of the piece is amazing!

I am rapidly becoming a huge fan of Ms. Hahn. This recording displays a wonderful, sensitive yet playful reading of the Mendelssohn violin concerto. 4 out of 5 stars because of the hyper-speedy tempi. The final mvt just doesn't sound right at this lightning-fast speed, as thrilling as the technical pyrotechnics are… Allegretto non troppo, please!

Hahn somehow manages to make one of the most angst ridden, painful pieces of music ever writen sound pleasant and happy. This is not a positive thing. Shostakovitch Violin Concerto No 1 should bring you to tears not out of the beauty of the notes, but of the pain of war torn Russia. The Cadenza especially should make you wail and rend your garments. Her performance is upbeat and chearful, lacking none of the emotion the composer intended. Compare hers to performances like David Oistrakh and the contrast is staggering. Hahn is a meal of water and white bread, bland, tasteless, and unfulfilling.

I am not so well acquainted with Mendelssohn, but I do quite like his violin concerto here. The Andante especially was very lyric and beautifully played. Hahn's violin playing is in my opinion perfect technically, musically, and emotionally. She makes the virtuosic violin part sound effortless in any recording I've heard from her, which is amazing!! I am more familiar with the Shostakovich, as he is one of my favourite composers of all time. Her playing of the A minor concerto is POWERFUL!!! Just superb! I loved every second of it. She also seemed to give proper emphasis to the DSCH motif. I had the feeling that she played without any emotional restraint, which I think is very important, and hard to pull off, but she does amazingly! This is a very powerful and moving album, and you need to buy it!!

The tempi she takes are out of this world. Her presicion is unprecedented and her expression is perfect. Everything about this recording blows my mind. The Shostakovich is especially incredible.