Have violin , will travel

Violinist Hilary Hahn, former child prodigy, will play Dvorak's violin concerto tomorrow with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. Hahn, 26, keeps a regular journal on her website, www.hilaryhahn.com , where she posts news items, art made by fans, and her musings on the joys and frustrations of life as a touring musician.

In recognition of her Internet savvy, the Globe conducted an interview with Hahn on AOL Instant Messenger last week. In an edited transcript of the conversation, she talks about living in hotels, groupies, electric violins, and classical music's place in today's society.

Q. Tell us about your upcoming performance with the BSO.
A. I'm really looking forward to it -- I love the orchestra and have never performed at Tanglewood. I know some of the members, and I always enjoy seeing their faces onstage when I look around in a concert. The Dvorak is a fantastic piece, not played enough. There are so many works like that in the violin repertoire -- greatly underrepresented in standard programming. Hang on one sec, someone knocked at my door.

Q. Sure.
A. The hotel just delivered an electronic keyboard! Hooray! I can practice in my room! I'm trying to get back in touch with piano but I like practicing in my room in general. Which is difficult with piano.

Q. What's hotel life like?
A. It's pretty much like a watered-down version of living in a studio apartment. You take the minimum with you, engage in minimal activities -- practice, read, draw, paint, dance, do yoga, watch TV, sleep, shower, etc.

Q. Do you own a home?
A. I own my violin, some bows, suitcases, some furniture, and a rowing shell, and that's about it. It's great. Very nomadic. Very modern and, dare I say, cool.

Q. Your online journal is much more literate and sophisticated than most blogs.
A. Thanks. Gotta get back to the journal, make the entries more regular.

Q. Are there young musicians who read the journal?
A. I'm not sure exactly who reads the journal and who doesn't, but there are a few people I see at a lot of my concerts whom I've known for several years now.

Q. So you have groupies?
b>A. Kind of, I guess. I don't think of them as groupies, since many are students themselves -- I used to go to any concert I could get to, even if that meant seeing the same concert three nights in a row.

Q. Does classical music need to do more to attract younger listeners?
A. No, not necessarily. What we need to do as classical musicians is try to better understand classical music's role in contemporary society [as well as] non-classical music. Once we "get" that, then it makes sense to do outreach from that perspective.

Q. You've performed and recorded with [the indie rock band] . . . And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. What was that like?
A. The band with the super-long name, yep. I've recorded with them in a couple of different situations and performed once [in Moscow]. Luckily, my violin was allowed to stay intact after my part of the performance. They tend to destroy things onstage.

Q. How was that experience different from your usual gigs?
A. It's a different kind of performing. That was my first experience performing live with a rock band, plugged in on an electric violin. What I liked was the immediate response -- the audience waving their arms, the freedom of motion around the stage depending on what I felt like in the moment.

Q. Electric violin?
A. Yes, there is such a thing as an electric violin :-). When you're playing live with a rock band that has two drum kits onstage, you kind of need a boost. What was most interesting about that sort of experience, though, was how it impacted my appreciation for what I do, for the classical side of things. And, of course, after having improvised onstage with a band and a live audience, I also appreciated the craft of the composer all that much more.

Q. You've been immersed in classical music since you were 3. Do you get violin fatigue?
A. Nope! [I'm] happy with my instrument, love the repertoire, enjoy working with my colleagues, and all the variety of things I get to explore. Of course, sometimes my arms get tired, or my brain doesn't want to function any more. But I think those are good problems to have.