"Brilliant, audacious, and exuberant Hahn-Bin mesmerized the sold-out crowd."

April 22, 2011 2:37 PM

"Hahn-Bin, a 22-year-old protégé of the eminent violinist Itzhak Perlman ... holds Mozart and Warhol in equal esteem ... [he's] a rare bridge between Carnegie Hall, where he [made] his mainstage debut on March 13, and the Boom Boom Room [at The Standard Hotel], where he performed at a party hosted by V Magazine during New York Fashion Week."*

Hahn-Bin first gained national attention with a performance at age 12 on the 42nd Grammy Awards in an event honoring Isaac Stern.*

Now when he strides out onstage he notes that audiences often gasp [video | 04:45].

"Brilliant, audacious, and exuberant, Hahn-Bin seems a cross between a haute couture model and Mozart"*

"It wasn't the billowing white kimono and tight black boots sported by the 22-year-old Korean-born musician that caught audience members' attention. It was the white face-paint, black eyeliner and lipstick, and a high-peaked mohawk. ... Throughout the evening, Hahn-Bin engaged in slow-paced, eerie, total-body gesturing that strangely intensified the beauties of the music." *

'Have you ever seen anything like it?' one female audience member whispered to a friend.

'No,' she replied. 'I’ve never heard anything like it, either.'"*

posted by ericb (14 comments total)

Hahn-Bin at Le Poisson Rouge (NYC).

Hahn-Bin performing with the KBS Symphony Orchestra (South Korea).
posted by ericb at 2:39 PM on April 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks for that.
posted by StickyCarpet at 2:49 PM on April 22, 2011

Great stuff. Cross-pollination benefits are obvious here. I'll be following to see where this guy goes.
posted by VikingSword at 2:56 PM on April 22, 2011

Just fucking wow.
posted by lazaruslong at 2:58 PM on April 22, 2011

Ah, one of my favorite people.

I do really want to ask him what he's got against eyebrows, but that's neither here nor there. Lovely post, lovely subject matter.
posted by Mizu at 3:04 PM on April 22, 2011

so he's the new Kennedy, huh.
posted by gyc at 3:50 PM on April 22, 2011

Wow!
posted by anadem at 7:55 PM on April 22, 2011

So the Lady Gaga of classical Violin?
posted by delmoi at 9:06 PM on April 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

Marvelous. I was fully prepared to be annoyed at a gimmicky performer putting himself before the music (I'm looking at you, Lang Lang.) But Hahn-Bin... well, I don't care what he looks like, just give me more.
posted by Wemmick at 9:31 PM on April 22, 2011

That performance at La Poisson Rouge nearly had me in tears. Reminds me of why I love art music, and why I chose violin when all the cool kids were taking saxophone lessons.

And he's 22? My stock just went waaay down.
posted by jnrussell at 1:43 AM on April 23, 2011

For once a fusion of the old and the new that doesn't seem disingenuous or where one is merely being used by the other. Not necessarily exactly my cup of tea (fashion- or repertoire-wise) but art music needs more of this, I think.
posted by Thomas Tallis is my Homeboy at 6:47 AM on April 23, 2011

Hulu [video | 04:45]: Sorry, currently our video library can only be streamed from within the United States
posted by Mister Bijou at 7:38 AM on April 23, 2011

So the Lady Gaga Klaus Nomi of classical Violin?
posted by mikeh at 9:56 AM on April 23, 2011

Hulu sucks donky cock. Can only stream in USA.
Not the best of the "World Wide Web".
posted by Goofyy at 4:18 AM on April 26, 2011