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Artist
Hilary Hahn & Hauschka
12+ albums
contemporary classicalinstrumentalmodern classicalambientviolin
about
Proper concert violinists aren’t supposed to do what Hilary Hahn does. They’re not supposed to tour with folk-rock singers like Josh Ritter. They’re not supposed to play concerts behind someone’s desk in the bone-dry acoustics of an office building. And they’re certainly not supposed to make recordings with avant-garde prepared-pianists known for dumping ping-pong balls and other ephemera into the bowels of a piano. Of course, Hahn has done just that. She recorded her new album Silfra in Iceland with Düsseldorf- based composer and pianist Volker Bertelmann, who goes by the name Hauschka. The album’s producer, Valgeir Sigurðsson, normally works with the likes of Björk and Feist. All of that is brave enough for any classical violinist raised on a steady diet of Bach and Tchaikovsky. But the big surprise here is that when Hahn and Hauschka entered the studio for their 10-day session, they hadn’t prepared a note. Almost all of Silfra is the product of improvisation — a word that strikes fear in the hearts of most classical musicians, who are accustomed to relying on printed music. That said, the duo didn’t go in totally blind. By meeting regularly for improv sessions over a two-year span, they knew each other’s playing well and had ideas on how to proceed. Still, there are no retakes or patches on the album. What we hear is how they played it for the first time. Silfra unfolds like half-remembered scenes from dreams. Textures and images shift randomly, triggered by an odd asso
