Hahn & Lisitsa performance promises to be “electrifying”
Violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Valentina Lisitsa will grace the Union Theater February 17th with a special evening of fantastic classical music spanning across several periods.
Photo taken by Peter Miller
Hilary Hahn garnered national attention with her violin at the very young age of 12, when she debuted with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in 1991. She studied at some of the most prestigious music schools including the Peabody Institute of Music and obtained her bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Musicat the age of 19, when most people start college. After such a huge breakthrough she has gained much critical acclaim and has performed with the world’s most esteemed orchestras.
Outside of the concert hall, Hahn records regularly and has made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. Following the appearance, her then newly recorded album Bach: Violin and Voice reached the #1 spot on a Billboard classical chart, and #6 overall on the Billboard Classical Albums chart. She has also collaborated with contemporary musicians and artists, even in video game music.
Hahn loves to interact with her fans. “Hilary’s Journal” documents her travels while on tour, with pictures and electronic postcards from around the world. She started the blog after visiting a third grade class in upstate New York in hopes of instilling an curiosity of cities and countries all over the world in children. Her violin case has an interesting Twitter account detailing her travels.
Valentina Lisitsa did not become serious about music as early as Hahn, but once she did, her fame quickly grew. Born in Ukraine, she moved to rural North Carolina to establish her life with her husband, Alexei Kuznetsoff, who also happens to be a fantastic pianist. Lisitsa coins herself a “redneck pianist” because she didn’t establish her life in a big city like most musicians. Her countryside home offers her solace from the hectic touring schedule she keeps.
Lisitsa got her big break as a classical pianist in 1995 at the Mostly Mozart Festival, held annually at theLincoln Center in Manhattan, and her career grew from there. She continually expanded her pianistic techniques, claiming to not belong to any one certain school, especially not Russian (even though she attended the great Kiev Conservatory). She claims doing her own thing works for her—there’s a reason why she’s one of the world’s leading pianists.
An interesting little known fact about Lisitsa is the size of her hands. In an interview with P.P. de Rooij ofTonal Ties, she describes her hands as if they were Schwarzenegger’s, which she claims allows her to play very demanding music with impeccable touch. She has a few recordings, including Black and Pink which features works by Liszt, Ravel, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff. An excerpt from the work is below.
Hilary Hahn, violin
Valentina Lisitsa, piano
Thursday, February 17, 2010, 7:30 pm
