Stravinsky & Brahms: Violin Concertos

At first glance, Hilary Hahn’s pairing of the Brahms and Stravinsky violin concertos might seem an odd decision. After all, the Brahms is arguably the most romantic concerto of them all, its huge opening movement symphonic in scope, its second movement a heart-on-sleeve masterpiece. Written just over 50 years later, Stravinsky’s violin concerto occupies an entirely different world. A far cry from the Romantic richness of the Brahms, Stravinsky’s concerto is a fizzing neoclassical work that combines 18th-century styles and form with a distinct modernist flavor. This is one of Hahn’s finest albums, her lucid tone brilliantly complemented by the light touch of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under their founding conductor, Sir Neville Marriner.