Overwrought and not particularly well played, violinist Hilary Hahn's 2006 recording of Paganini's First Violin Concerto and Spohr's Eighth Violin Concerto is not especially attractive. Although it would be easy to say that Hahn's histrionic style, with its swoops, slides, slurs, and trills, made this all a matter of taste -- and to a certain extent, of course, that's true -- it's her playing that ultimately sinks her performances. Hahn's thrill-a-bar style may be delightful to those who revere the high-voltage style of Heifetz, but it may also be unappealing to those who prefer the smoother tone and more refined style of Grumiaux. But even those who prefer their thrills non-stop may be put off by Hahn's surprisingly sloppy technique. Her intonation is repeatedly sour, her tone is frequently coarse, and her technique is often not up to the music. Nor are Hahn's interpretations up to the music. While both Paganini's and Spohr's concertos were conceived as highly dramatic works, Hahn's execution is simply too emotional. The crescendos scream, the pianissimos whisper, the glissandos wail, the double-stops shriek, and the pizzicatos are like slaps in the face. Eiji Oue and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra abet and encourage her performances, but this is clearly Hahn's show from start to finish. Deutsche Grammophon's recording sounds like the microphones were too far away from the orchestra and too close to the soloist.
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