Maurice Ravel:
- Works for violin and piano
Maurice Ravel’s works for violin and piano have established a solid place in the core violin recital repertoire. These works demonstrate the influences of a whole range of musical styles from jazz to impressionism; and they fuse the tonal colors of Debussy with the lyricism of Cesar Franck.
The selections on this CD are:
Violin Sonata in G major
1. Tres modere
2. Tres lent
3. Tres anime
Maurice Ravel:
4. Violin Sonata No 1 in A major (One movement)
Maurice Ravel:
Violin Sonata No 2 in G major
5. Allegretto
6. Blues:Moderato
7. Perpetuum mobile: Allegro
Ravel: Rapsodie de concert, titled:
8. ‘Tzigane’
Ravel:
9. Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Faure
The one-movement Sonata, written by Ravel as a student, was composed a long time before the composer’s amazing Violin Sonata in G major with its unique character.
The spontaneity, tonal colors and exotic sounds of Ravel’s violin music call for immense skill in interpretation, and passages in the frenzied Tzigane test the limits of the performer’s virtuosity.
Violinist Alina Ibragimova rises to these technical and music challenges with extraordinary results. She is accompanied by pianist Cédric Tiberghien, who provides flawless performances in the piano parts.
In my view, Alina Ibragimova is one of the most promising violinists of this generation. She has an expressive power that produces a natural flowing sound that is seemingly effortless.
Listen now to a rehearsal with Alina Ibragimova:
And next, here is a section of the Felix Mendelssohn Violin concerto, op.64; listen, please, and you’ll hear one of this world’s premier musicians!
I could not improve on what was written in the Gramophone Awards Special Issue, October 2012:
“This performance of the E minor concerto is splendid in many ways, and Alina Ibragimova’s playing combines verve, brilliance and imaginative intelligence. Mendelssohn’s dynamics are scrupulously observed – the pianissimo before the first movement’s cadenza is breathtaking and the short Allegretto that introduces the finale, played exactly as written, is exceptionally eloquent.”
Finally, let’s listen to Alina Ibragimova as she plays the Bach Partita No.2 for Solo Violin:
Tags: Alina Ibragimova, Ravel, Mendelssohn, Bach