Higdon Violin Concerto - Hilary Hahn et al (2009)

Jennifer Higdon is maybe not as well-known among working composers as some, but she has a catalog of high quality compositions. This one was written for Hahn to premier with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. This premier recording is with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The piece won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2010.

To me, the main point of a violin concerto is to show off the range of the violinist (and the composer, for that matter). This concerto does a great job of that. The first movement starts slow and quickly builds in complexity. The building violins that soar and dive around the opener are actually a dialog between the soloist and the concert master (concert master being the first chair first violin). This isn’t very apparent on the recording, because both players have similar tone. I was lucky enough to see it performed by my local symphony and was delighted to discover that dynamic.

The rest of the piece lets the soloist stretch out and show off some technical skills. I’m sure it was built this way because very few violinists have technical skills like Hahn does.

Tracks I Liked

Well worth listening all the way through. If you only have a few minutes, please don’t miss the 3rd movement, Fly Forward. It’s 5 minutes of joyous, intense, furious showmanship.