Author: Lilliane Ballesteros
THE CONCERTJust as “A Taste of Oxy” was winding down last Friday, October 19, Thorne Hall was filling up with music aficionados, preparing to witness Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn’s only Southern California tour performance. The audience erupted into applause as the 27-year-old musician made her way onstage, accompanied by pianist Valentina Lisitsa.
Hahn, dressed in an exquisite cream-colored Escada gown, glittered onstage as she moved into the first piece of the evening. With a calm expression on her face, Hahn drew her bow to her violin and began playing César Franck’s “Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major.” She was stunning as she moved her bow in what seemed to be an effortless motion, causing one audience member to comment on the violinist’s ability to sustain a sound without revealing a change in bow direction.
Hahn was scheduled to perform at Occidental five years ago, Chair of the Music Department Irene Girton explained. The performance was cancelled after Hahn injured her arm and was unable to play.
No stranger to Occidental, Hahn has two cousins who attended the College. During a Q&A session on October 18, she expressed her delight in finally visiting Oxy. “I’ve been hearing about this place since I was 12,” she said.
Girton also expressed delight in Hahn’s visit to Oxy. “I started watching her play when she was 17 or 18 and I have always been impressed by her musicianship,” she said. “She really is so articulate about the expressiveness of music and what it means to her.”
Occidental does not have a publicity budget, making it harder for departments to generate interest in the community for on-campus events, Girton said. She added that the Music Department spent much energy and cost to prepare for Hahn’s visit. The Department publicized Hahn’s concert at the California Institute of Technology, the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles, as well as in the Los Angeles Times. They even used Facebook to advertise the event.
Hahn ended the evening’s performance with a stunning presentation of Johannes Brahms’ “Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major.” After the performance, Hahn and Lisitsa signed CDs, DVDs and programs in the Thorne Hall lobby. Their next performance is scheduled in Arizona for October 23.
THE Q&AHahn was born in Virginia and grew up in Baltimore, where she began studying violin at the age of four. At age 10, Hahn auditioned for the Curtis Institute of Music, a prestigious music school in Philadelphia that enrolls less than 200 students a year. She was accepted and spent the next seven years traveling between Philadelphia and Baltimore. “It was a very customized situation,” she said.
While at Curtis, Hahn studied under the guidance of the legendary violinist Jascha Brodsky. Brodsky was the last surviving student of the Belgian violinist and composer Eugéne Ysaÿe.
“I was introduced to the future of classical music and had a connection to the past,” Hahn said. She performed Ysaÿe’s “Sonata for violin solo No. 5 in G major” at her Thorne Hall performance, causing a standing ovation. One audience member remarked on Hahn’s remarkable ability to play the piece without the aid of a music sheet, exclaiming, “That memorization!”
Since graduating from Curtis, Hahn has performed across the globe, collaborating with prominent orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Boston Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2001, TIME magazine named her America’s Best Young Classical Musician. In addition, Hahn was awarded a Grammy for her 2001 recording of the concertos of Brahms and Stravinsky.
During the Q&A, Hahn described her time at Curtis, saying that her interests were varied. She studied literature and languages and said she wished she had studied history as well. “It is important to keep yourself balanced and well-rounded,” she said.
The violinist also offered advice for budding musicians. “I think there is a lot to slow practice,” Hahn said. She explained that she thinks the best part of schooling is that it offers students a balance that is hard to find after graduating. “In school, someone gives you feedback, but after, who is there to judge you? You have to decide what it is you’re doing,” she said. She also advised students to listen to their teachers because it helps musicians learn to work with each other.
Hahn also commented on her musical collaboration with folk-based singer/songwriter Josh Ritter. “Music is there for communication between people,” she said.
Hahn said that she has learned many things in the process of “guesting in other genres.” She is interested in any collaboration as long as it is based on people’s creative curiosity. “You have to believe in your work,” she said.
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