Hilary Hahn

“Deutsche Grammophon really has a grasp of the classical repertoire.”

“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.”

“I was a student that responded well to knowing what to work on.”

“When I was starting out with record companies, there was a tendency to simplify the image as a prodigy. I have more than one adjective, and I've always tried to be myself and listen to my instincts.”

“I am not trying to be cooler or change my image or get into pop music.”

“I like to record. It's very intense.”

“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.”

“I feel like I had as normal a childhood as anyone, but it had a certain focus. Maybe other kids focused on sports.”

“I always feel I have a long way to go in my playing and my music.”

“When I started my recording career, I hoped that someday the Grammy committee would notice something.”

“Taking on music that's not played very much is a contribution I can give. There's so much I feel that needs more attention.”

“I grew up in Baltimore.”

“Musicians are also interpretive artists and we are just as creative as painters and writers. We interpret in a way that expresses ourselves.”

“I like when things happen very quickly, just flash in and flash out. It keeps things interesting.”

“It struck me that it would be fun to just play stuff with Hauschka. Not even have a project in mind, but just get together and make up some music and see what came out.”

“I've continued to pursue other interests in my downtime, but I'm glad I'm a musician. It's the perfect career for me.”

“Bach in general was so good with the violin. He just finds the genius way around his music on the instrument.”

“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.”

“Writing is a good creative outlet... it's a supplement to my music.”

“I have a lot of interests. I daydreamed about various career options growing up; the one I'm in is the first one that worked out, and I love it, so I feel very lucky.”