Obviously, something like ballet, you have music, you dance with the music and it's a very direct connection. With visual art, when there's no music that accompanies the art, such as great masterworks in a museum, you wind up interpreting what the artist is doing, how the artist made that work and what they're conveying.

Hilary Hahn

I wound up sticking with violin because it was the strongest current in my life.

Hilary Hahn

Of course everyone has those moments of frustration now and then, when you say, 'I wish I could play well already - or just stop.' But it's too much trouble to stop just for a moment of frustration. It is when you keep going that you make the most progress.

Hilary Hahn

I like to take walks and getting out and seeing things. These experiences are so irreplaceable and give you a whole different perspective on the greater context that you're in. If I didn't try to take advantage of that, I'd be missing out on a lot of really interesting things.

Hilary Hahn

You never know what you're going to learn from which pieces and which composers and colleagues are going to influence that thing you think you know.

Hilary Hahn

I find that Bach is appealing to a lot of different audiences. It really hits people at their core in different ways, but it also creates a meditative space. I just feel like I can play it, and it reaches people.

Hilary Hahn

I never felt like a prodigy. For one thing, the root of the word is rather monstrous, literally. I never really felt like a monster or anything abnormal, because I always had a lot of different interests. But kids tend to focus on one thing, and for me it was violin.

Hilary Hahn

What I do is creative. It doesn't seem like that when I'm playing a piece that was written in the past, but the score is just the outline and everything in it is relative. The key is to make this piece written by someone else belong to you and then connect to the audience.

Hilary Hahn

Edgar Meyer's violin concerto was the first piece of contemporary music I worked on in any depth. I was 18 or 19.

Hilary Hahn

In the performance sense, I find that interpretation is improvisatory in nature. You can go anywhere with an interpretation on any given day.

Hilary Hahn

My teacher was still practicing Bach until his death at 89. I have no doubt that if I live that long, I'll be doing the same thing.

Hilary Hahn

As a young performer, what you need to be doing is building your technique and musicality, not promoting your abilities - unless you're ready to take on all that will result from such an approach.

Hilary Hahn

I love performing. The sounds coming at me are dynamic, colorful and multi-layered. The energy from the musicians around me and from the audience is a swirl of excitement. Sometimes, I can feel the stage vibrating under my feet.

Hilary Hahn

I'm more creative the more rules I have - note values, tempos, dynamic markings. Somehow, I find that really inspiring.

Hilary Hahn

The violin didn't keep me from doing things I wanted to do.

Hilary Hahn

I don't really compare myself to anybody. That would be very unhealthy.

Hilary Hahn

I enjoy reading and thinking, and it's hard to make that space as an artist.

Hilary Hahn

I think when a teacher says that you're ready for something, it means you're ready to learn it. It doesn't always mean that you are completely capable of doing everything that's inside the piece.

Hilary Hahn

That word 'prodigy' has such a derogatory implication. It is used to describe people who are forced to play a lot of concerts very early, people whose audience comes because of their youth, people who are exploited. None of the above really applied to me.

Hilary Hahn

In music you can find your own niche. You can do what you want to do. There is really no job description. You have to find your own way, and that's fun.

Hilary Hahn

You're not supposed to stop and listen and spy on people practicing. It's supposed to be a private thing. But it's when you come face-to-face with yourself and you look for your flaws and you try to fix them yourself, it's a really intimidating process. It can be very discouraging.

Hilary Hahn