CD

Hilary Hahn, Schoenberg/Sibelius Violin Concertos (DGG). America’s best young classical violinist has taken on a real nutcracker this time around: Arnold Schoenberg’s 1936 concerto, a finger-twistingly hard piece of twelve-tone neoromanticism that sounds like Brahms gone bonkers. Even if you don’t buy Schoenberg’s music–which I don’t–you’ll find this specimen perversely fascinating, and Hahn has taken out a gilt-edged accident insurance policy by coupling it with Sibelius’ ever-popular D Minor Concerto. Needless to say, the violin playing is fabulous, and Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra provide immaculate support (TT).