Sony Classical's "Collection" series is dishonestly titled; the three-disc sets contained therein are not samplers of an artist's best work or total output, but simply budget recyclings of early discs from the artist's catalog -- the ones for which sales are falling off. One might well wonder whether the youthful Hilary Hahn has laid the groundwork for a retrospective, but all Sony has done here is compile some recordings she made in the late '90s, when she was pushing 20. The good news in this case is that these were the ...
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Sony Classical's "Collection" series is dishonestly titled; the three-disc sets contained therein are not samplers of an artist's best work or total output, but simply budget recyclings of early discs from the artist's catalog -- the ones for which sales are falling off. One might well wonder whether the youthful Hilary Hahn has laid the groundwork for a retrospective, but all Sony has done here is compile some recordings she made in the late '90s, when she was pushing 20. The good news in this case is that these were the recordings that made Hahn stand out from a crowd of young violinists, and it's more than worthwhile to have them in a single package. Hahn, the last student of Ysa˙e, combines a gleaming tone with a charismatic sense of involvement with the music. It's understandable that Sony has heavily promoted this young artist. She looks great. She blogs. And she delivers the goods, with innovative programs of familiar and unfamiliar works to boot. The Stravinsky and Brahms concertos on disc 3...
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