Classic CD review: Hilary Hahn, In 27 Pieces

Hilary Hahn gave us Bach after her concertos with the NZSO but the American violinist now offers a radical take on what to do when it comes to encore time. In 27 Pieces: The Hilary Hahn Encores grew from 26 commissions, which invited composers from around the world to provide a short piece for violin and piano that might function as an audience reward after an evening of solid sonatas.

(The 27th piece, by the young American Jeff Myers, topped a global competition that the violinist initiated.)

This entertaining project, in two hours, showcases the vast range of stylistic resources available to today's composers.

It is pleasing to hear Gillian Whitehead's Torua compress so much into just over four magical minutes, evoking images of weaving and wafting breezes. Clear and crucial bellbird calls sit alongside a roaring climax - Torua was written in the week after Christchurch's 2011 earthquake.

There's a bluegrass bounce in Mason Bates' Ford's Farm and a jazzy game of tag in Jennifer Higdon's Echo Dash; even the Englishman, Mark-Anthony Turnage, delivers his own brand of rural funk in Hilary's Hoedown.

The post-minimalist spirit is alive and well in the flickering gossamer of David Lang's light moving.

You'll meet three grand old men, American David Del Tredici, Finn Einojuhani Rautavaara and Ukrainian Valentin Silvestrov, who veer from full-blooded post-Romantic gesture to humble cafe waltz.

For those who want fire, there's a real blaze when Hahn and pianist Cory Smythe launch into Elliott Sharp's Storm of the Eye and the explosive shade by Richard Barrett.

On the exotic side, taste first the silken textures of When a tiger meets a Rosa Rugosa by Chinese composer Du Yun; Aalap and Tarana, by Indian classical violinist Kala Ramnath, is so cleverly done you might swear that tabla and sitar are in the mix.

One oversight irritates. The absence of any information about this music puts you at the mercy of the internet.

Few, I suspect, will have the patience to trawl through Hahn's 30-minute Skype composer-chats; a hundred well-chosen words on each track would have been much appreciated.

Verdict:

American violinist's sparkling new project upgrades encores into concert highlights