In the 23-year-old Grammy Award winner’s first release for Deutsche Grammophon, Hilary Hahn has returned to Bach, the subject of the violinist’s lauded debut solo disc for Sony Classical in 1996. This time, it is the concertos, music of such ineffable beauty that the album is bound to thrill listeners new to both Hahn and Bach. Yet for those who know the repertoire, as well as Hahn at her best, this disc may disappoint. The playing, both by the soloist and her partners in the double concertos (violinist Margaret Batjer and oboist Alan Vogel), is often highly accomplished. But Hahn’s breathless tempos in the opening movements rush the music, and her exposed playing in the slow movements is not always ideal. Nigel Kennedy, in his recent EMI collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic, is the sounder investment for those who want a modern, richly expressive interpretation of these sublime concertos.—BB
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