Hilary Hahn and Jennifer Higdon CD Release Event Announced for September 20th at Housing Works Bookstore Café

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7-8:30 p.m. Housing Works Bookstore Café
126 Crosby Street
NYC 10012
Free and open to the public

On Monday, September 20th, violinist Hilary Hahn and composer Jennifer Higdon will discuss the upcoming Deutsche Grammophon Higdon & Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos CD at the Housing Works Bookstore Café in New York City. The event will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. Hahn and Higdon will chat about the two works on Hahn's upcoming album: the concerto Higdon wrote for her (recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music) and the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The evening will feature a conversation between these two artists about how the commissioned concerto came to be and how the pieces relate to one another, as well as a few detailed examinations of specific musical passages. There will be time for questions and mingling at the Housing Works Bookstore Café after the event, and advance copies of the disc, which will be released the following day, will be available for sale. Please note that Hilary Hahn will not perform, and proceeds from CD sales will be donated to Housing Works. Seating for this event will be limited; please R.S.V.P. to guarantee a seat.

Higdon & Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos will be released on Deutsche Grammophon on September 21, 2010, demonstrating Hahn’s commitment to exploring new music while embracing the masterworks of the past. The disc features the world premiere recording of Jennifer Higdon's Violin Concerto. Higdon developed an intimate familiarity with Hahn's impeccable artistry after serving as the virtuoso's twentieth-century music professor at the Curtis Institute. The concerto, hailed by the Baltimore Sun as "tailor-made to the violinist's unflappable technique and musical depth," appears along with Hahn's fresh take on the monumental Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. This album is not the first time that Hahn has explored the connections between two concertos that come from dramatically different origins; Barber & Meyer Violin Concertos (2000), Paganini & Spohr Concertos (2006), and the Grammy Award-winning Schoenberg & Sibelius Violin Concertos (2008)--which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard classical charts and was featured in Time Magazine--have all demonstrated Hahn's brilliant playing and her keen sensitivity to the violin repertoire.

Housing Works Bookstore Café is one of downtown New York’s most vital cultural institutions, presenting an eclectic mix of events--from readings and concerts to comedy nights and storytelling competitions--featuring many of today’s most exciting artists. The bookstore is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and 100% of its profits go to Housing Works, Inc., which provides housing, healthcare, job training, and advocacy for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. As an independent cultural center, it offers patrons a unique opportunity to join the fight against AIDS and homelessness simply by buying or donating books; eating at their café; coming to concerts, readings, and special events; or volunteering on the staff.

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