Born in 1979 in Virginia, Hilary Hahn began learning the violin at the age of three within the framework of the Suzuki method at the Peadoby Conservatoire in Baltimore. She then studied with Klara Berkovich followed by the legendary Jascha Brodsky, the last of Eugène Ysaye’s pupils, at the Curtis Institute of Music. Relatively sheltered from a career as a child prodigy, Hilary Hahn took the time to study counterpoint and theory and opened her horizons to literature, paintings and languages.
She had only just turned fourteen when she made her international debut in Hungary playing Bernstein’s Violin Concerto with Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. The following year she performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Lorin Maazel. Her Carnegie Hall debut was soon to follow as she crossed the threshold of America’s most prestigious concert hall in 1996 accompanied by the Philadelphia Orchestra.
From an early age, Hilary Hahn has always wished to enlarge her repertoire. From Bach to Schoenberg, Spohr to Vaughan Williams, the violinist turns her attention to every musical style without neglecting contemporary music. She plays the Bernstein concerto and gave the first performance and recorded the Violin Concerto written for her by the American composer and double bass player Edgar Meyer. She was to renew this experience in 2009 with Jennifer Higdon’s Violin Concerto, which was also written for her. Forever inquisitive and impassioned by new musical experiences, she composes and interprets songs that she performs on stage between tours.
A violinist leading a versatile career, Hilary Hahn pursues and enriches her masters’ tradition and remains loyal to the memory of Milstein, Grumiaux and Heifetz.
Awards
- Grammy Awards in 2003 for her Brahms/Stravinsky album.
- Several Diapason d'Or .
- German Critic Prize.
