KEY POINTS:
Violinist Hilary Hahn and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen have combined their estimable artistry in a new recording of Schoenberg and Sibelius Concertos for Deutsche Grammophon.
The Schoenberg may not be the initial attraction for punters but this man's music is not as terrifying as legend has it, despite the fact that Jascha Heifetz rejected the Concerto when offered it in the mid-1930s.
Emotions will be engaged if your defences are not on automatic as, in many respects, this 1936 Concerto comes across as a slightly more tangy equivalent of the Korngold and Strauss scores of its day. Hahn has commented how she was determined to do justice to Schoenberg's lyricism and she does just that, magnificently.
The 28-year-old American violinist unfurls the soaring melodies of the first movement while bringing the detail of musical cloisonne to pages that are closer to chamber than orchestral music, including a snappy little duet with snare drum in the Finale. Few violinists today can rival her faultless intonation or her tenacious pursuing of a musical line.
The musicians of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, under Salonen, play their part, individually and en masse, showcased in a superlative recording.
Salonen has been taking his complete Sibelius symphonic cycle around various concert halls of late and the Finn is the perfect ally for Hahn in the composer's Concerto, providing sturdy Sibelian architecture as a backdrop for her beautifully considered reading.
English violinist Chloe Hanslip cancelled her March appearance at Wellington's International Arts Festival, disappointing many who had been captivated by her 2007 recording of the John Adams Concerto. Alas, her latest Naxos outing, playing two Concertos by French composer Benjamin Godard (1849-1895), reveals artistry lavished on music that is alarmingly light, complete with one Finale that could have jumped ship from an Offenbach operetta.
Kirk Trevor, conducting the reliable Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra of Kosice, lends collegial support but, once the Concertos are done, he and the orchestra have a daunting task trying to convince us that Godard's four Scenes Poetiques are worth the trudge.
* Schoenberg & Sibelius, Violin Concertos (Deutsche Grammophon 477 7346)
* Godard, Violin Concertos (Naxos 8.570554)
