Eighteen years ago, Hilary Hahn played with the Rotterdam PhilharmonicOrchestra on her 25th birthday in the Concertgebouw. This week she is backwith the orchestra, Thursday in a well-filled Doelen in Rotterdam. she playsit Violin Concerto by Antonin Dvořák; a succession of virtuoso difficulties,which strike almost all of them on the bullseye with full force.
Hahn is the glowing center of the stage and of the evening. You can hardlytake your eyes off her lightning-fast fingers, which show one technical featafter another. It is unbelievably beautiful how each note she plays soundsindividually, takes on a full tone and reaches the entire hall with meaningand flawlessness. She starts tight, slides delightfully over the string at afew moments. A gaping treat.
pom pom pom
And that while Hahn herself looks so relaxed that it seems as if she is tryingsomething for fun tonight. As if her hands just happened to be hers. Herconstant attempts to maintain eye contact with conductor Lahav Shani areendearing, the smiles when she finds that eye contact again heartwarming. Shealso has such a smile for the first violin group, when she has the time tolook, and a few times even for her own violin, as if she is the first listenerto enjoy everything that is conjured from that instrument. When only theorchestra is playing, and she is not for a while, she stands with her hands infront of her lap, violin dangling down, nodding her head to the music she ismuttering, pom pom pom.
Just as impressed as the hall is the Rotterdam orchestra, which, after a fieryintroduction (Jörg Widmanns con brio from 2008), since Hahn’s rise, suddenlynothing more dares. Shani can drag and wave with his arms and prod with hisindex finger as he pleases, his musicians remain timid in the background.They’re forgiven because it’s so endearing to watch the violinists inparticular, when not playing, peer longingly or crouched over the shoulders orunder the armpits of colleagues so as not to miss Hahn’s movement.
New audience
The orchestra was sharper afterwards in the First Symphony by Brahms,although it is difficult to understand why Rotterdam programs such a safeBrahms symphony after such an impassioned and virtuoso first half after theintermission. Safe, or actually even a bit dull. With lots of mids and abuttery sound, Shani tries to provide an interesting counterbalance to theearlier feast, but it feels a bit forced. Shani models mountain peaks wherethe music really only has content for hills. One group nevertheless stands outremarkably, as if they are the only ones who still really feel Hahn’sbrilliance: the horns blow a second half to pass through a ring.
Hahn had clearly drawn a lot of new audiences to the room. After the first andsecond part of Brahms, there was a merry clapping at the back of the hall. Inthe front of the room, just as concentration-breaking, there was loudgrumbling and ssshht.