Jennifer Higdon first met Hilary Hahn whilst teaching at the Curtis Institute when Hahn was a student there. The idea for the Violin Concerto was born, and in 2009 Hahn gave the premiere. The first movement 1726 takes its title from the street number of the Curtis Institute and uses the intervals of unisons, 2nds and 7ths extensively. Beginning with an ear-catching series of barely audible harmonics, the solo line develops as different instruments of the orchestra creep in. The movement snowballs until a return to the sparse harmonic motif that develops, this time, into a surprisingly lyrical ending. The second movement, Chaconni, is a glorious exploration based on several chaconnes upon which musical ideas are extrapolated. No slow movement would be complete without an indulgent cor anglais solo that is passed seamlessly through the woodwind and finally to the solo violin that takes the line and soars. The orchestra is always close by, giving this movement the feeling that it is really a concerto for full orchestra. Fly Forward was an image so compelling that Higdon "could not resist the idea of the soloist doing exactly that". The perpetual solo line is punctuated with orchestral sounds and provides a truly nail-biting conclusion. Needless to say, Hahn revels in the mania, her solid technique never compromised. It has been recorded so that the complex orchestral parts can be heard clearly throughout. The Tchaikovsky too is a significant work for Hahn, who first studied it during her time at the Curtis Institute, and it is presented here in the composer's original version. Hahn gives a fine interpretation dispatched with plenty of punch and emotional intensity (though I'd not necessarily listen to both works back-to-back). Under the baton of Vasily Petrenko, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra sounds terrific. Credit must go to the engineers, too, who present both of these magnificent works in illuminating sound.
Reviewed by Dawn Gibson