Opera Chic

Hahn & Grigolo Fête the New Annenberg Arts Center in Beverly Hills

(Hahn & Lil Buck for Saint-Saëns)

To bow her new, eponymously-named performing arts center last night in Beverly Hills, Wallis Annenberg tapped American violinist Hilary Hahn and Italian tenor(ist) Vittorio Griogolo for a fête galante sponsored by Italian luxury house Salvatore Ferragamo.

Hahn and Grigolo cashed in cultural blue chips against star wattage such as Jodi Foster, Tim Robbins, Charlize Theron and Demi Moore between performances by Kevin Spacey, Diane Lane, John Lithgow and the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Hahn joined hip-hop choreographer Lil Buck for a mashed-up version of Camille Saint-Saëns Le carnaval des animaux "Le cygne" (it's his cultural shtick, he's been at it for a while with Yo-Yo Ma here and here) while Grigolo sang Italian opera hits such as E lucean le stelle (from Lil Buck's Instagram here).

(Grigolone)

Hahn & Hauschka for Ladies who Lunch

What's better than rummaging through Nordstrom's shoe department for a killer Chloe wedge? Doing it to a live soundtrack from violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Hauschka, the soloists behind a new, atmospheric CD, Silfra.
 
Earlier this week, between the accessories and beauty departments, Hahn & Hauschka played at the Seattle Nordstrom Flagship store. Let's hope Hahn asked for her performance fee to be paid in shoes.  

The Mysteries Of Interpretation -- Hilary Hahn : The Opera Chic Interview

 
(Photo: Olaf Heine / DG)

At 30-years-old with roughly half of her lifetime already producing best-selling CDs, winning big awards, and touring the world, you'd think American violinist Hilary Hahn would be ready for a vacation. Don't hold your breath. Hahn is currently gearing-up for her highly-anticipated CD, "Bach: Violin and Voice" which drops on January 12, a first-ever collaboration between the soloist and opera singers. 

A couple Grammy awards already under her belt, the Lexington, Virginia home-girl showed early proclivities with the violin, and released her first album (Bach) when she was 17-years-old. Celebrating her 30th birthday just a couple months ago, she's spent the last decade of her life on stage while churning out polished and intuitive interpretations on disc, and has kept us duly entertained with her delve into the digital age -- she's on YouTube, writes a journal on her blog, and is on twitter (to be honest, her personified violin case does all the tweeting).

Her new CD is unique in that she collaborates for the first time with opera soloists -- baritone Matthias Goerne and soprano Christine Schäfer -- in a program of Bach cantatas, choral selections, arias, and duets from St. Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor with conductor Alexander Liebreich and the Munich Chamber Orchestra.

In celebration of the new CD, SIRIUS XM Radio will be broadcasting an intimate interview with Hahn at 1:30pm on January 12...catch it during your lunch break! If lunch is blocked, you can boogie down to Bleecker Street later that night (at 7:30pm) to catch Hahn's "Bach Party" at (le) poisson rouge, where Hahn will be on hand with her super-friends in a live performance of Bach's Chaconne in D minor and the Aria Variata for solo piano. She's also making an appearance on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien’s January 14th show (along with stellar guests Rob Lowe & Jane Krakowski!! <3 <3)

OC chatted with the violinist a few days ago, live & uncut from America's heartland. Here's how it all went down, although you'll have to read after the cut to find out:

The Voice of God Likes Hilary Hahn

We can't stand it when they talk about politics or the environment, but we don't mind when they talk about music. Here's what happened when some of Hollywood's big wigs met to talk about art and naturally, Hilary Hahn entered the discussion. Naturally. 

Hilary Hahn Chats up Norman Lebrecht

 

American violinist Hilary Hahn chatted with Norman Lebrecht for this week's The Lebrecht Interview on BBC Radio 3. The self-titled ~music nerd~ (no worries, Hilary, you're in good company with Lebrecht's other 2009 interviewees William Christie, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and Ian Bostridge) spoke about aspects of living on road, her rise as an artist, the importance of her privacy as a performer, and about the state of classical music during the financial crisis. No glimpses into that highly-guarded private life, tho...Lebrecht's too much of a gentleman.

Playboy Magazine *Discovers* Opera Stars

One of our more deranged readers once asked us to create an "Opera MILF" website as a tribute to the female hawtness of singers and musicians.

Opera Chic declined.

He must have found more receptive ears at Playboy magazine. Link **NSFW**, obvs.

"Which classical babe do you think is the sexiest? Choose your favorite and click on the “SUBMIT” button at the bottom of the page!"

Seriously. "Too Hot To Handel: The Sexiest Babes Of Classical Music".

If you have to vote, vote for Hahn. That's what we're doing early and often.

She's a camgirl, after all.

Here's a compilation of those who are browsing from work. Click for bigger/more legible:

 

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Where Hilary Hahn Instantly Becomes The Coolest Person In Showbusiness

In a show of coolness, sprezzatura and sense of humor almost unheard of in the tragically self-loving classical music business, Hilary Hahn has answered readers questions on her YouTube channel. Including a particularly zany one from friend of OC Timothy Mangan.

And, she operated her own cam.

Hilary's words of wisdom for a fellow violinist quite stumped by Schoenberg's Gears Of War-like difficulty level:

"Just chip away at it".

Hilary Hahn's Fingering Secrets

``It's not impossible to play, but there seems to be only one right fingering for each passage,'' she said. ``So I really had to work on that, normally something I don't agonize over. But after that point, it's been really fun and smooth sailing.''

Nice interview with the occasional blogger/diarist, Hilary Hahn.

Sad to read that fingering Schoenberg cost Hil a boyfriend, but you know what they say about guys with small central keys, right?

Sadder to learn that tomorrow night la Hahn is playing the Met (as in, the Metropolitan Museum) together with neuroscientist Josh Ritter.

OC's fave quote re: the crossover experiment: 

Ritter, meanwhile, worked up a violin-and-guitar version of a Paganini cantabile. "It's taken a lot of practice," he says. "There are chords there I didn't know existed."

Kinderklassiks

Thanks to the excellent music stores in Salzburg, we discovered Deutsche Grammophon's Der kleine Hörsaal series, a German language audio CD program for kids that introduces them to their favorite performers.

Part of the Kinderklassik genre, the series are recorded in German language audio with a narrator, while the star musician speaks/sings/performs. Interspersed are a group of children discussing the music, and what it means to them.

Thomas Quasthoff lends his voice and experience to the endearing compilation in Singen mit Thomas Quasthoff, joining fellow participant Hilary Hahn's Die Geige Mit Hilary Hahn.

btw, while surfing Hilary Hahn links, her website was an unexpected treasure-trove of features, from journal entries to interviews to stories about her pets. She posts adorable fan art (see below: omg a blue horse wearing a top hat surrounded by music notes = brilliant!), along with a sparkling anecdote about a conductor who gleefully pockets a condom during rehearsals.