Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade. Hilary Hahn, violin; David Zinman, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Sony SK 60584.

Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade. Hilary Hahn, violin; David Zinman, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Sony SK 60584.

The first question one must ask of any new release of an oft-recorded work such as the Beethoven Violin Concerto is, "Why?" What can a new performance, especially one from an artist as young as Ms. Hahn, say that hasn't already been said by seasoned performers such as Heifetz, Perlman, Kremer, or Szeryng? Or, for the audiophile, what can Sony's sound do to improve upon the catalogue's previous recordings? The answers in the case of this new album are because, a little, and not a lot.

This isn't to say I disliked the disc. The Beethoven is sweet, and the companion piece, the Serenade for Solo Violin, Strings, Harp and Percussion by Leonard Bernstein, is charming. In fact, it is the Serenade that works best, which is surprising considering that Ms. Hahn apparently just recently learned it, while the Beethoven has long been a staple of her repertoire (well, not too long; she isn't very old). Anyway, about the Beethoven, Ms. Hahn takes a fairly tenderhearted approach to it, caressing the work in poetic fashion while perhaps missing the bravura elements slightly when compared to the several of her elders mentioned above. She is not nearly so incisive, so electrifying, as Heifetz (RCA), for example, nor so direct yet grandiose as Szerying (Philips). She is amply supported by Zinman's Baltimore Symphony and the Sony engineers as waves of big, warm, natural orchestral sound come pouring down around her. True, she is sometimes in danger of being washed away by it, but she manages to hold her own. One goes away from the Beethoven with a feeling that one has heard it anew -- a kinder, gentler Beethoven than one may be used to, an interpretation that is more congenial than usual.

Still, it is not a disc I would recommend to first-time buyers. Stick with the others I've mentioned, instead. On the other hand, if you really love the work and are collecting different approaches to it, by all means go ahead. You won't be disappointed. Now, about Sony's packaging: The fold-out booklet is about as easy to manage as a road map in the wind. It unfolds to about three feet long, drooping over one's arms as one tries to read it. Thanks, Sony. For those listeners interested in what Ms. Hahn looks like, Sony also include eight separate photographs of her, on the front cover, the back cover, and within the booklet itself. There's everything here but a poster. Maybe next time.