Hilary Hahn & Hauschka, Silfra
2012 | Label: DG
Cross-genre collaborations are inherently risky. For every peanut-butter-and-chocolate innovation, there are a dozen sardines-and-chutney mismatches. That classical violinist Hahn would improvise with a composer (Hauschka) who favors prepared piano and electronics was not an obvious fit. But the result is a considered studio product that still sounds spontaneous.
They stick close to classical norms on a few tracks – notably, "Krakow," where Hahn plays bits of melody over Hauschka's chord progression on an untreated piano. More often, they make music of alternately clashing or meshing textures, complementary gestures where, occasionally, listeners can't be sure which instrument's making which sound. While this is largely due to Hauschka's mechanical and electronic alterations to his piano sound, Hahn also deploys a wider variety of… more »
