Sibelius - Violin Concerto
Schoenberg - Violin Concerto
Hahn; Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Salonen
DG 477 7346

Release date March 2008

Perhaps it is not surprising that Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto is so under-represented in the CD catalogue.  Heifetz apparently was heard to comment, on being given a copy of Schoenberg’s new work, that the piece was only playable when the violinist had grown a sixth finger! (A comment that left the composer depressed; “Heifetz cannot play it. Nobody can play it.”). It was written in 1936 after Schoenberg had fled Nazi Germany and was living in America. This was a time when Schoenberg had shunned tonality and was using the twelve tone technique. This may be one of the reasons that the work has a reputation for being thorny and impenetrable. In the hands of the wrong musician that almost certainly would be the case. Hahn, however, commands control from the outset - her rock-steady bowing technique and intonation is remarkable, particularly in the multiple-stopping heard at the beginning of the exposition. The work is unforgiving for both soloist and orchestra, yet Hahn’s controlled style deals with this perfectly. Romantic sweeps and portamento gestures are out of the question; the style is one of clarity and precision. Yet Hahn does not merely execute the role of skilled technician - she navigates the work impeccably and manages to coerce the right level of sentiment that lurks beneath the surface. Sibelius’s Violin Concerto was premiered some 33 years before the Schoenberg; these concerti demonstrate well the two completely different musical directions that these composers took. Again Hahn gives a truly masterly and considered performance. For me, her style is better suited to the Schoenberg - the clarity of finger work and almost obsessive precision slightly sterilise the Sibelius for me as do the tempos which, at times, seem a little too languid for my taste. Yet there is no denying that this is a performance that demands to be heard.

Reviewed by Dawn Cooke