Violinist launches new classical season at the symphony

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Violinist Hilary Hahn, who launches the Honolulu Symphony's classical season, is known for her ability to pair unusual pieces of music. Hilary Hahn With the Honolulu Symphony 8 p.m. today, 4 p.m. Sunday Blaisdell Concert Hall $15-$57; at the symphony ticket office at the Dole Cannery, the Blaisdell box office and Ticket Plus outlets 792-2000 (symphony box office), 526-4400 (Ticket Plus), 591-2211 (Blaisdell box office)

"When you start playing at a young age, you have a lot of time to learn," she said.

"Because I was 3 going on 4 when I started on violin, there was no rush ... a lot of time to learn. When you're 4, you're not capable of playing everything well, but a lot has to do with perspective. Once I started, however, I never stopped."

Hahn, a Baltimore native who now lives in Philadelphia, is making her Hawai'i debut when she solos with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra tonight and Sunday at Blaisdell Concert Hall. These are the season's kickoff Halekulani MasterWorks concerts.

Hahn is a vital part of a growing young breed of emerging concert virtuosos. The medium, she says, is also attracting younger audiences.

"A lot of kids who play musical instruments, and their friends, are coming to concerts these days," she said. "And, yes, there are a lot of young performers on the concert and chamber circuits, too.

"In a funny way, it's becoming an underground movement. Classical music is fascinating to those who don't know much about it, since there's so much to listen to — and discover. You always hear something new; the form is not predictable like the pop format.

"I suppose it's interesting to newcomers in an arthouse sort of way — refined art, something to enjoy for your own reason, something you don't really need an education to experience."

"I know all about her," said Honolulu Symphony maestro Samuel Wong, who will conduct Hahn in her chosen repertoire, Bach's Violin Concerto No. 2 and the Bach Double Violin Concerto (with concertmaster Ignace Jang). "I've never worked with her, but she's been with the New York Phil (Philharmonic). She is mature, serious, and her talent belies her age and youthful appearance. She is one of the wonderful new young stars."

Indeed, with an early career start, Hahn already is a Grammy nominee who was named Time Magazine's Best Young Classical Musician of 2001. She is known for her fondness and ability to pair unusual pieces of music, the way food connoisseurs pair food and wine. "Each brings out an aspect of the other that might not be brought out by a piece that's similar," she said of matching up music.

She remembers passing a Baltimore neighborhood music store with her dad, when they encountered a sign heralding music lessons for kids. "We went in and watched a boy playing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.' I started lessons then, and never stopped."

It wasn't always easy in her earlier years. Not without discipline and commitment.

"With any instrument, you keep learning, to master the instrument or the piece you're working on," said Hahn, who was talking by phone from Seattle. She had been visiting Los Angeles and took a trek to the Northwest before journeying to Honolulu earlier this week. "It's all a matter of continuing a cycle of development."

She lives and breathes the classics, from which she derives joy and challenges. "I listen to music for different things," she said. "Classical music, for educational perspective and enjoyment, to absorb something I can learn. There's just so much that it's impossible to learn all in your lifetime."

But, she said, she enjoys other kinds of music. "Coming from a classical music discipline, I can pick out some of the elements that will be useful to what I do," she said.

She said she tried playing the flute in elementary school ("I couldn't get the sounds") and has played the piano for six years ("a supplementary choice"). But she became most passionate about the violin.

"I think the range of the violin is really appealing," Hahn said. "A lot of people say it's the closest (in sound) to the human voice, and its placement next to your neck ... you breathe into it. The violin has the ability to be percussive, lyrical, melodic ... it's very interesting to listen to, to work with, to constantly discover new repertoire."

She plays an 1864 instrument crafted by a Frenchman named Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. "It's middle age, as far as violin (vintage) goes, and I got it from a family in Baltimore, who were friends with my first violin teacher, Clara Berkovich, in Russia.

"The grandfather in the family had been a colleague of Vuillaume; when he died, his family decided to move over to the States, and Mrs. Berkovich sponsored them. Anyway, the violin came over, too, and at one of my concerts, the owners talked to me and wanted me to play it, eager to find it a suitable home.

"I was 13, and the family chipped in to buy it. And the violin has history, in that the government probably would have confiscated the instrument. The grandfather must have had enough of a positive profile for the Russians allowing him to keep it."

Because of its prestige and value, Hahn always has it at her side when she travels. Like other violinists, "I never check in my violin; it may be in the overhead, but it's with me at all times," she said. "I don't leave it in hotel rooms, either, and during the 9/11 situation, I've never had trouble traveling with the violin, being stopped only once."

She never stops practicing — it's a daily ritual. "My first teacher, Mrs. Berkovich, told me you only practice on the days you have to eat, and it's necessary as eating and breathing. If you can't play, it's pointless to present your music to the people.

"But that said, if you do your work, all you can do is go on stage and enjoy, and not worry. Mrs. Berkovich said that performing is like throwing a party; you invite the audience and give your gift of music — and your reward is the applause. If you practice regularly and enjoy the music, you find what you like and you focus on that.

"Some people like to perform, some don't, so think of practicing as enabling yourself to perform better. If you like to practice but don't like to perform, practice a lot and not perform as much. You'll be happy."

She avoids talking about her private life, but admits that "I have a lot of friends in the business. It's a very interesting thing in classical music; it's a small world. You go to festivals and meet different players who are playing musical chairs, no pun intended, in unexpected places. It's not hard to keep up with friends on the road, because you really run into them."

Hahn is on her first Honolulu visit, but recalled a childhood memory in which, in the sixth grade, she predicted in a personal biography what she would be doing 10 to 20 years down the road.

"I was studying violin at that time, and wasn't traveling, so I put down that the most unlikely thing I would be doing with my violin in 10 or so years was playing with the Honolulu Symphony. Now, I had no clue if there was an orchestra, because I was this kid in Baltimore, way on the East Coast. And now, I'm coming over to perform ... with the Honolulu orchestra."

She still harbors career goals and dreams, hoping to continue to flourish as a performing artist, doing big concerts and chamber music recitals. "I like the combination of it all — and also the opportunities to travel, go to places I haven't been able to go, but using music as a reason to go — places like Africa, Thailand, Vietnam that don't have high-profile concert situations.

"I can't complain about what I've done so far; I love the music, I feel lucky to be able to keep going. Unlike sports, when you have to quit at a particular time, I can continue playing till I don't feel like it anymore."

Reach Wayne Harada by e-mailing wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phoning 525-8067 or faxing 525-8055.