Hilary Hahn and Josh Ritter Paganini Cantabile

Hilary Hahn and Josh Ritter play Paganini's Cantabile at the Verbier Festival, 2007.
I realize that there is another video of the same content but was just hoping this one was slightly higher quality. :)
Disclaimer: I'm not trying to infringe on any copyrights, so if anybody has a problem with this video, please tell me and I will take it down immediately. Otherwise, enjoy!

[@chjimenez]

My God, what a wonderful tone has Hilary. All the great masters have their owns sound, now i can identify Ms Hahn, so marvelous, precise and exact like Heifetz but Charming like Menuhin.

[@dogpaw814]

So perfect and thoughtful playing .. This recital is one I wish I could've attended... She played all the best virtuostic pieces in one time

[@FoggyRoad81]

I LOVE how they are merging the styles. It is spectacular to see.

[@luisumana1456]

That smile shared between them, that is music in its most penultimate form.

[@littledagny]

He's not a classical musician... she played a folk song with him, so he attempted this one with her :-D Their duets are wonderful. I wish more musicians would collaborate across genre lines like this.

[@suedavis3525]

agree absolutely

[@aliceyang_music]

I was not alive in 2007 but I still enjoyed it!I will see Hilary Hahn soon!

[@chuqutty]

So mesmerizing! Hilary Hahn's version of Paganini's Cantabile is like the music from heaven. It's light yet full of passion.

[@suedavis3525]

She plays this piece with such sensitivity. And hats off to him, this piece must be way outside his comfort zone.

[@greybeardd]

All in all a perfectly charming performance! To add my two cents to the "controversy" below, the guitar part isn't so demanding that it needs the talents and instrument of a John Williams or Julian Bream. That he is playing a "cowboy guitar" is no more relevant a thing than someone playing a Bach piece on a piano instead of a harpsichord. Nice to see Hahn collaborating with other musicians of her generation. I understand she recently worked with Chris Theiele. Would love to hear that!

[@ViolinPlayPiano]

Fantastic violin performance. I like it very much!

[@CarolynViolin]

Like Hilary, I am also a professional violinist. I freelance in the MD/DC area and also play in NYC. I play the classical repertoire and I also stroll and I can improvise. I love Cantabile! It's one of my favorite pieces! And Hilary is one of my favorite violinists! She plays it beautifully! Wonderful technique, lovely vibrato and a very gorgeous interpretation! Carolyn

[@VideosTimes2]

I have ALWAYS been impressed with Josh Ritter since I first saw him opening for Joan Baez sometime ago! This is over the top as far as showing the versatility of Josh! It appears he can do no wrong!

[@BerlinerStadtschloss]

Yes, every single note and Phrase is filled by her personality. She must have a beautiful mind, I am sure. Have ever heard anyone laughing more charmingly than she does?

[@MrIbgrant]

I agree. A beautiful, intelligent person and Musician.

[@danyahal7]

That was a very touching performance.

[@non3974]

お互いに静かな世界を共有し合って紡ぎ出される音の一つ一つに神聖さを感じました。 お互いに思いやりに溢れた演奏に深く胸を打たれました。

[@wiltonpt1]

This is so good infused with total creative and free phraseology

[@BlueWildTiger]

This piece is beautiful! I hope to play next year with my sister! I play the guitar!

[@hamedmahdavi5785]

Amazing!

[@TheHabouh]

Cette pièce est magnifique ! J'espère pouvoir la jouer l'année prochaine avec ma soeur ! je joue de la guitare !

[@user-pb8jp5dx7h]

Kako lok uporablja je neverjetno❤

[@Leonam-96]

Very adorable!

[@tfh5575]

hilary always phrases everything exactly the way i wanted to hear it or BETTER

[@salvavillani]

meravigliosa! salvatore villani -firenze

[@annaisonthemoon]

couldnt agree more

[@SeoulSon51]

I can only find part 2 of the performance, which is the last 5 songs. Does anyone know where I can find a download of the whole performance? I would be so grateful.

[@soulguitarplayer]

Very nice interpretation

[@JerryIsDragon]

Hilary

[@glallee]

@SeoulSon51 Don't know about the rest of this performance, but NPR has their performance together at WNYC in May 2008, which may get you some of what you are looking for. Since KZbin won't let me post the link, you'll have to go to NPR.org and just search for Hillary Hahn and Josh Ritter an Uncommon Duo. It was a story they did on Morning Edition, May 22, 2008.

[@stephanieyeshuaislife7236]

SUCH beautiful violin. (but why would anyone say anything against josh? give me a break.....)

[@assindiastignani7087]

There seems to be a bit of discussion abt. the 5th to last bar of this piece. In the Autograph for vln.& piano (Verlag Wilhelm Zimmermann - Frankfurt am Main) what is written is a c# with a mordent above it (no indication that the lower neighbor - b - is to be played as a b#) going to a g with a fermata, then resolving to f# and then d. Fine. Ms Hahn - impeccable scholar and musician that she is - plays a b-natural, as notated by the composer.

[@niampatel9115]

assindiastignani my score of this has a turn on c natural to g natural to f sharp then d. Weird

[@vcarrilloa]

She is amazing!! A nice boy trying to make music with a great violinist ....

[@Aeryck]

josh's timing is EXCELLENT and hilary is fucking breath taking............FIERCE performance!!!

[@jemimahcastillo4387]

I like the way she play.

[@RUKOCHILENO]

Bien!!!

[@shawkobezhu]

was wondering about the same thing

[@yelitzagidaltymedinabasto5172]

So beautiful!!! Best performance ever!!!

[@borneon]

sehr schoen!!

[@ViolinStimme]

Beautiful as ever, Hilary.

[@NOalRAZZISMO]

You didn't get it pal, Csharp,D,Csharp,Bsharp,Csharp (fifth bar to the end) she plays b natural.

[@NKY8190]

what kind of vibarto is she really using? i can hardly see the movement of the wrist and arm..

[@simon0yeung]

Very restrained wrist,almost like finger vibrato:)

[@violinow1673]

Interesting. Agitato part( before the ad lib.) she played f natural not f sharp.

[@demarezmichel]

Très beau morceau Nous vous présentons notre version flûte - guitare Michel et Jean

[@trinhminhthanh7594]

the most perfect !

[@predictablepeter]

@magiorey Listen for the sound, not the technique. It sounds great.

[@PierluigiDinoGiovanardi]

Brava, bella e simpatica

[@AndySaenz]

I believe this piece sounds so much better with the piano accompaniment instead of using the guitar. And I prefer Sarah Chang's interpretation of this piece...somehow it sounds so much more emotive when she plays it.

[@marcoguitarsolo]

doesn't Josh come in far too early at 1.38????

[@amicablemayfly]

Yes. Yes he does :(

[@bogdansofei1299]

Yes, But she saved him .... And the day......

[@compmeist]

It looks like she is using whatever is comfortable for her ... but typically it originates from the wrist, under slight tension ...

[@predictablepeter]

snob-issimo

[@SuperShakespeare]

I recommend listening some different interpretations of this or of the caprice24 - a lot of world class interpretations can be found on youtube - my personal opinion; Hilary is the best :-)

[@boltshingling8252]

Yeah, I personally like Hilary's Paganiniana the most, but I prefer David Garrett's Paganini Caprice No. 24

[@NOalRAZZISMO]

At 3:36 the lower B in the violin should be sharp!

[@hjk4045]

내생각엔 힐러리한이 파가니니의 곡을 가장 깔끔하고 안정되게 연주하는것 같다 소리가 단단한 느낌...

[@beecause8]

Nice but see another better performance searching Violarra Paganini Cantabile on youtube

[@juannita1964]

vengerov vengerov vengerov... Great!

[@jeffmao1975]

Rip guartiar came too early 1:38

[@BerlinerStadtschloss]

Do you really think, that "fucking" is the term Hilary would rejoice Hearing?

[@compmeist]

Paganini was a bit of a ham

[@vector8310]

This performance was muffled by poor sound engineering.

[@AyakaSano]

lol emotion? by emotion do you mean wrong intonation? hahn may not be the most musically interesting, but she definitely has extraordinary talent, and precision.

[@wuillymay8815]

Aaaaa

[@davehshs651]

Unfortunately, the quality of this video is terrible.

[@gaetanfroyen9372]

Nice but you can't compare her to Leonid Kogan..and the guitar.. well you hear enough

[@1berto1264]

Gaetan Froyen This is better than Kogan's one in almost everything.

[@benzflix]

Saying "Like Hilary, I am also a professional violinist" is like my town clerk saying, "Like Obama, I'm a politician." A little realistic perspective, not to mention humility, would serve you better. The sentence would have been a whole lot less offensive without the presumptuous three words: "Like," "Hilary," and "also."

[@magiorey]

In my opinion the sound is no good, then again that's a matter of personal preference, being a classical guitarist I expect something different when listening to Paganini played on guitar, a richer, warmer sound, the fact he uses a steel string doesn't help...

[@walshamite]

@enma15ai Why so very critical, Евгений? Too hard. You may see a few imperfections, though few indeed from her ... we know he is not in her league as we can hear ... but I think you are going over the top with this 'destructive critic' rant! Why not listen to her Korngold v.c. performance here and see if you still feel so angry?

[@arthurforattini]

WHY???? JUST WHY??? There are so many good classical guitar players out there.. and to complete the madness it is an steel-string acoustic guitar!! Hilary is so good, i don't understand.

[@garretthinsonmusic]

He's a pop musician. This is a cross-over performance. She accompanies him on his pop songs and he accompanies her on hers. So it's not really madness, is it? Just an artistic choice that you can subjectively like or dislike.

[@arthurforattini]

it is madness because it's awful, badly played. being a pop musician doesn't imply to be that bad, i know pop musicians that sound as good as classical.. btw it's a Paganini composition! anyways.. I expected a better guitar quality, he's accompaining Hilary Hahn for the hell sake! She's a Goddess.

[@garretthinsonmusic]

It's not even poorly played, though. It's a simple performance of a simple arrangement. You can't blame him for playing the part as it's been written on his instrument of choice--a steel-string guitar. Hilary CHOSE to play with Josh because he's one of the greatest living songwriters on the face of the earth. He's a "god" in his field, just as she's a "goddess" in hers. They clearly have a mutual respect for each other's art. Hilary is the one accompanying Josh in other videos from this performance. And yeah, I know it's a Paganini composition? It's listed on the video. But it's clearly coming from Hilary's repertoire, not Josh's.

[@arthurforattini]

i can´t even hear him, and his right hand makes me want to scream.. but if you like him, ok. i'm not here to discuss tastes, i don't even know Josh, just commented what i heard (or tried to). his sound and performance is way too far from Hilary's level, and here we can see the disparity, unfortunately, she is TOO good..

[@BradMaestas]

Not only is he playing a dreadnought but he's using the dreaded piezo pickup too! Ouch. I won't even comment on his technique. Nylon strings with a mic only would've complemented her much better here. Still, it's exciting to break the "rules" every so often. Get along little doggie!

[@violinoamore]

Hmm ... maybe he is her boyfriend, but to bring him on stage just because this does not diminish his rather amateurish playing that does not suit the occassion at all

[@kacharov]

texan guitar? this is classical, not pop music

[@magiorey]

The guitarist is not merely lost, his technique (and therefore the resulting sound) is awful!

[@djseo1]

The guitarist is gawd awful. It's not even a proper classical guitar. Very crummy sound and technique. Ruined Hilary Hahn's beautiful playing completely. Too bad. Really.

[@alxteam]

its ok but, shes not that good she needs to put more emotion into it her compared to sarah chang is like ...... sarah chang kills it

[@sandyblond20]

Waaay nice