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Violinist Hilary Hahn has been called a “rising star” long enough.. Though her youthful appearance still gives her the air of a teen prodigy, she’s actually in her 30s —and her profile continues to grow even if she’s no longer the wunderkind who debuted with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra at age 12 and signed a record deal with Sony at 16. Since then, she’s performed for the Pope (2007), was named Gramophone’s artist of the year (2008), and won her second Grammy (2009). Hahn got an unexpected windfall when she performed on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien right as his tiff with Jay Leno blew up; her album subsequently debuted at number one on Billboard’s classical charts. For Sunday’s performance at Strathmore, Hahn–joined by Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa–will show off her range, from the Romantic (Beethoven) to avant-garde (Antheil); continental (Beethoven) to American (Ives). Her main man, however, is Bach. He composed his popular “Sonata for Violin in G Minor” in 1720, during a happy interlude in his career when his patron Prince Leopold, a widower and devout Calvinist, briefly forgot about God and encouraged Bach to write music that was fun. And in the deft hands of Hahn, it most definitely is.
HAHN PERFORMS AT 4 P.M. SUNDAY, FEB. 27 AT THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE, 5301 TUCKERMAN LN., NORTH BETHESDA. $35-$85. (301) 581-5100.