Hilary Hahn plays Bach: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2; Partita No. 1

I was greatly pleased by the quality sound and the Spectacular Performance by Hilary Hahn. I recommend this wonderful recording to anyone.

The Bach violin sonatas and partitas are among my favorite pieces of music. I have owned at least five different interpretations of them for many years, and have, along with so many others, longed for Hilary Hahn to record and release the balance of them ever since hearing the precocious but partial Hilary Hahn plays Bach. Her new Bach release is the fulfillment of that longing in every way. I have listened intently to the music of Bach for many hours, but I am just a layman when it comes to the technical aspects of classical music and Bach in particular. Expert (and glowing) opinions on this new release are readily available elsewhere. Reading reviews like these and the comment threads on others, the lay listener might be left bewildered when trying to choose among the various offerings of these works. Arguments break out in an effort to declare which version is ‘the best’ or ‘the definitive’. I make no effort here to sway anyone toward one version or another, but only offer my own impressions and opinions (which is all they are, after all).Among the other versions I own is Nathan Milstein’s earlier recording (he re-recorded them later in his career). This recording is often heralded as among the best ever recorded, which is why I purchased it. To my ears, it sounded a bit as if the young Milstein was struggling with the composer. Not in a technical way - he’s a virtuoso as much as anyone who can tackle these incredible compositions - but in terms of musicality and interpretation, I didn’t hear nearly as much lyricism and musicality as I do from Hilary Hahn (but obviously this is in contrast to those who champion Milstein’s versions). Her musicality is absolutely stunning. There is no hint of a struggle in her Bach - she seems to have immersed herself deeply inside this music and is a channel for the composer’s vision. Even so, one can still feel her love and her unique style when she plays Bach, but it never overshadows - only enhances.A young classical violinist who I met at a bluegrass camp (she was there to learn how to fiddle) swore by Julia Fischer’s version as The Definitive interpretation and urged me to add it to my collection. I did so, and it’s certainly wonderful. I’ve listened to it many, many times. But I keep coming back to Hilary Hahn again and again. One thing that simply stuns me when I listen to Hahn’s playing is her intonation. I play several fretted instruments, where intonation is more a function of the instrument than the musician. It never ceases to amaze me how violinists can navigate lightning-fast passages that dance across the fingerboard and play every note with near-perfect intonation. Hilary Hahn is lauded for her intonation, and there are passages on her new recording that left my jaw agape at her fluidity, speed and articulation while maintaining what to my ears seemed like perfect intonation.Chris Thile, the world-renowned mandolinist, was quoted in another review of Hilary Hahn’s new Bach recordings saying “When you hear her play, you’re hearing the music as clearly as you will ever hear it.” (He has also released a partial recording of these works that many in the mandolin world, me among them, are hoping will be completed someday. That he appended ‘Vol. 1’ to the album’s name gives us all reason for optimism.)But these are all words. The only way to truly understand is to listen with your own ears. If you own Hilary Hahn’s first installment of these works, you should not expect this new release to sound as if it had been recorded contemporaneously with that earlier one. It sounds more mature, but the musicality and the lyricism that characterized her early recording is still there, now more complex and burnished with her greater maturity as an artist and a human on the Earth. It is a gift to anyone who listens to these amazing recordings.[ As another reviewer noted, some of the CD pressings from Decca are flawed - the first copy of this CD that I received from Amazon had a skip right at the end of track 16, smack dab in the middle of the final note, leaving the listener a bit bewildered. Additionally the track names embedded on the CD are preceded by lengthy numeric sequences that appear on my CD player's display. This is an unfortunate mastering error for such a prestigious release. I ordered a replacement but was not optimistic that it wouldn't have the same problems as the first one. Fortunately the replacement copy did not skip at the end of track 16 !! (though the file name error was still present - a relatively minor nuisance).]

Good quality of product and fast delivery

Very good！

In 1997, a very young Hilary Hahn made her recording debut playing Bach solo works. Now, twenty-one years later, she returns to them. Her playing on this tribute to the master is transcendent. AS she has demonstrated countless times in the past, her technique is flawless and her sound clear and pure. Behind the technique is a first class musical intelligence –ears, head and heart linked together—which makes her interpretations of these works incomparable.

Must give at least 4 stars for Bach’s music and Hilary Hahn’s playing of it. I am still puzzled however, that not one other of the leading violinists in history (starting in the late 1940’s and the LP era) were ever heard on a piecemeal sonically unmatched set of the 6 Sonatas and Partitas that was done with Hilary Hahn for whatever reasons.I believe experts among listeners and players alike will include H.H. among the finest of the performers of these works and I expected something better for her as well as for the listeners.In a side note I add that I believe, that we, arguably, now have and have been having the pleasure of listening to the most musically diverse group of accomplished musicians playing and recording these works than of in any other time period previously that I am aware of.

Ms. Hahn masterfully plays the rest of the Bach Sonatas and Partitias for solo violin, completing what she started in her debut album. Her beautiful and evocative tone sets the standard for violin, in my opinion. The Decca CD pressing had issues, but I was able to get a SHM CD from Japan without the skipping issues present in the US release. I look forward to listening to Ms. Hahn's lovely interpretation of these seminal works for years to come.

Love it

Crystal clear sound, a gold standard for me. James Ehnes is my other standard.

L'un des plus grands violonistes des XXe et XXIe siècles. La performance de Bach est parfaite

Me gustó su ejecución

Johann Sebastian Bach hat je drei Sonaten und Partiten für Violine solo geschrieben, insgesamt also sechs Werke. Die Aufnahmen von zwei Partiten und einer Sonate hat Hilary Hahn schon 1997 veröffentlicht, als sie gerade erst siebzehn Jahre alt war. Ich staunte über die Reife, mit der sie diese anspruchsvollen Werke damals schon vortrug - es war dies die Frucht jahrelanger Übung und intensiver Beschäftigung mit ihnen. Ende April 2012 durfte ich Hilary Hahns Spiel in einem Konzert in Winterthur, das sie zusammen mit dem Pianisten Cory Smythe gab, live erleben. Neben anderen Werken spielte sie Bachs Sonate Nr. 2 a-Moll für Violine solo. Nach dem Konzert fragte ich sie, ob sie beabsichtige, auch Bachs drei Werke für Violine solo, die auf ihrer ersten CD nicht enthalten sind, einzuspielen. Sie antwortete ausweichend, wollte sich nicht festlegen. Nun ist diese Folge-CD 2018 aber erschienen, 21 Jahre nach der ersten, so dass wir nun alle sechs Werke für Violine solo von Bach in der Interpretation von Hilary Hahn hören können.Die neue CD enthält die zuvor noch fehlenden zwei Sonaten Nr. 1 g-Moll und Nr. 2 a-Moll sowie die Partita Nr. 1 h-Moll. Die drei Sonaten sind alle viersätzig: auf einen langsamen Einleitungssatz folgt jeweils eine Fuge, danach ein weiterer langsamer Satz und schliesslich ein schneller Schlusssatz. Die a-Moll-Sonate ist deutlich ausgedehnter als die g-Moll Sonate (25 gegenüber 17 Minuten). In der g-Moll Sonate haben mich die grossartige Fuge und das wirblige Presto besonders beeindruckt. Die a-Moll-Sonate enthält u.a. ein sehr schönes, melodiöses Andante und ein abschliessendes Allegro, dessen pulsierende Sechzehntelbewegung immer wieder von energischen Zweiunddreissigstel-Paaren vorangetrieben wird.Die Partiten haben einen anderen Charakter als die Sonaten: Es handelt sich bei ihnen um Suiten, um Folgen barocker Tänze. Die vier Standardtänze solcher Suiten sind Allemande, Courante, Sarabande und Gigue. Aber Bach wäre nicht Bach, würde er sich immer an dieses Schema halten: Er bezieht auch andere Tänze mit ein, etwa eine Gavotte oder ein Menuett. Für die Partita h-Moll auf unserer CD hat er anstelle einer Gigue eine temperamentvolle Bourrée komponiert. Und er gönnt uns zu jedem der vier Tänze im Anschluss an den eigentlichen Tanz jeweils ein "Supplément", ein sogenanntes "Double", das eine sehr freie Variation des ursprünglichen Tanzes ist.Hilary Hahn bezaubert auch auf dieser Folge-CD mit ihrer makellosen Intonation, ihrer Stilsicherheit, je nach dem Charakter des einzelnen Satzes mit lyrischer Finesse oder aber temperamentvollem Einsatz. Die vielen Doppel- und Mehrfachgriffe, die auf der Violine oft nur arpeggierend ausgeführt werden können, meistert sie scheinbar mühelos. Sie hat uns mit diesem Album ein weiteres wunderbares Geschenk gemacht.Es empfiehlt sich nicht unbedingt, das ganze Album am Stück zu hören, das kann zu einer Überforderung führen. Besser, man hört sich für den Anfang nur eines der Werke an, etwas später ein zweites, und entdeckt so den Reichtum dieser Werke nach und nach. Für den schnellen Konsum sind sie definitiv nicht geeignet. Es entspricht ja nicht unbedingt unseren Hörgewohnheiten, einer Violine allein zuzuhören, sondern meist wird sie von einem Tasten- oder Zupfinstrument begleitet, welches die Akkorde spielt. Aber wer sich genügend Zeit nimmt, wird immer wieder neue Schönheiten in Bachs Werken für Violine solo entdecken.

¿Que se puede decir de esta mujer? Pues que es un genio de la música. Maravillosa.... una grabación exquisita.