She's regarded as one of the best classical musicians in the world. But violinist Hilary Hahn, performing at Duke Saturday, is no stuffy elitist. At 25 years old, Hahn tours the country in a bus that's more rock star than conservatory. And though she's a product of rigorous training, she's been known to pal around with Bela Fleck, and to indulge her inner troubadour on the street corners of Seattle.
recess chatted up the famous string-master to determine just how she strikes that balance between hip and hypnotizingly talented.
recess: Classical music seems reserved to a lot of young people. As far as your performance intensity goes, do you get a bigger high from playing in a Seattle Starbucks, or in a more sacred place like Carnegie Hall?
Hilary Hahn: Well, I kind of don't see any performing space as really sacred-. You see a much more immediate reaction from people on the street, from that audience. It's just that they're there for different reasons.
Do you listen to any non-classical music, or go to any outrageous rock concerts?
I like going to non-classical shows just to see the audience. I actually wear earplugs-I don't want to wreck my ears! But really, I tend to appreciate music that I can understand and appreciate as a musician. Fortunately, I have friends with a wide variety of tastes in music. It's kind of nice for me to be able to listen from both the perspective of a 25-year-old and the perspective of-OW, my mouse just bit me!
Haha.
I'm sorry. Where were we? No, but when I'm listening, I listen for certain aspects of quality-I listen for people who I can tell have spent a lot of time developing their art, whether its singing or the creativity of the music they're creating or performing, that it's really something that they've spent time on-alt or pop or jazz or world music. As a result, I like a rather large range of things.
What does it mean to be a young classical musican? You know, when most other acclaimed musicians your age are peeling off clothes on MTV?
I think being a classical musician prepared me for a lot of the other things I enjoy now. MTV may have been the beginning of my non-classical musical education. I mean, there's some good stuff but there's not a whole lot to choose from. I really enjoy alternative radio stations. Still, I tend to evaluate other music from a classical perspective. There's so much to choose from and there's just as much of a range within classical music as in all of the ranges outside of it. As a result, I find those things I like in classical music in trip-hop or alternative rock or you know electronica or whatever it is that I listen to that I like.
Have you ever tried other genres for violinists, like fiddle or Stephan Grapelli-style jazz?
Hmm. I played for a dinner and President Clinton was there; one of things we played was a blue-grass style, and I really enjoyed it. I'm friends with people who are very much in the blue grass and something scene. I went to a show with Bela Fleck and Stanley Clark and Jean Luc Ponty. Afterward, I went backstage to say "hi" to Bela, and Jean Luc Ponty came up to me-he said he really enjoyed my recordings. I was really surprised.
What about collaborating with other people?
Collaborations are really fun. I did the soundtrack for The Village; I was about to do a collaboration in folk-rock alternative group but that fell through. I know that whatever comes along will be interesting. Crossover-mixing things up-is endlessly interesting to me. I learn something from other musicians. I get something from it.
Do perhaps those contemporary collaborations makes classical music more "accessible," so to speak?
As far as being a violinist is concerned, I don't want to take classical music and make it more accessible just by adding pop elements. Whatever people want to do as far as creative developments is fine, I don't resent that. But, as far the projects that I do, if I'm doing something with classical music-which is basically my background and my musical life-I really want to do it well. I don't want to talk down to people; I want to present the music for what it is.
Hilary Hahn will perform Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. in Page Auditorium. Tickets are available through the Duke Box Office, 684-4444.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.