“It was clear that the musicians were enjoying a conversation”. What more could you wish for from violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Robert Levin, who undertook a five-concert European tour to Vienna, Oslo, Munich, London and Lyon last month. The European recitals were followed by seven dates in America ending with their home city, Boston.
Reviews complimented the partnership, and Robert Levin’s exceptional performances:
“Levin was a full partner, with Hahn a lyrical presence (the slow movement [of the Kreutzer Sonata] seemed downright magical).” – Olin Chism, Fort Worth Star Telegram
“Their joint recital Saturday night at Jordan Hall as part of the Celebrity Series brought the best of both worlds… Levin brought dexterous technique and fine touch to both works. In the third movement of the Bach sonata, which featured Levin by himself, his phrases swirled elegantly in a singing, almost fruity tone…
Many of the Mozart’s violin sonatas are juvenilia, but K. 481 is a mature work rich in flowering melody… Levin was the focus of the second movement as he conjured soft phrases with clean, pure tone.
Long and rapturous applause brought Hahn and Levin back to the stage for three encores. These short works revealed yet again that Hahn and Levin are a duo of rare and sensitive musicality.” – Aaron Keebaugh, Boston Classical Review
“Mozart’s Sonata in E-Flat Major was outstanding. A Mozart scholar and expert improviser in the Classical style, Levin played with a tender sort of assertiveness. Clear, connected phrases flowed like a transparent sheet of water blooming from a fountain… Three encores followed… After each, Hahn and Levin bowed to each other, and then to the audience, standing together as equals.” – Zoë Madonna, The Boston Globe
“It was Levin whose dynamism collared our ears…” – Geoff Brown, The Times ****
