Karol Szymanowski - Music for Violin and Piano (Alina Ibragimova; Cédric Tiberghien)

Information

Composer: Karol Szymanowski

• (01-02) Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28
• (03-05) Mythes (Trois Poèmes), Op. 30
• (06) Romance in D major, Op. 23
• (07-09) Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 9
• (10-12) Three Paganini Caprices, Op. 40
• (13) La berceuse d'Aïtacho Enia, Op. 52

Alina Ibragimova, violin
Cédric Tiberghien, piano

Date: 2009
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA67703

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Review

Enter Sheherazade. From the opening eerie bars of the Nocturne and Tarantella (the program’s lead item), one senses that this is less a performance than an enchantment. In his richly considered liner essay, the estimable Francis Pott notes that “the violin and piano parts interact seamlessly, demanding great intuitive subtlety and telepathy from both players.” Ibragimova and Tiberghien evince a rapport so fluently natural that one simply takes it as given, marveling only afterward. The piano seldom furnishes accompaniment in the ordinary sense, by the way, but is written to self-effacingly provide an elaborate, complex, affetuoso web of sonority as background for the violin, with occasional flickers of “Yes, Ma’am” dialogue. Perhaps the most telling compliment one could pay Tiberghien is to say that he complements Ibragimova superbly. Likewise, Ibragimova’s stunningly potent technique—the stuff of legend even in the close scrutiny ( especially in the close scrutiny!) of the digital age—is soon forgotten in a sensuous croon through which the more extravagantly impossible the violinistic hurdles, the more ecstatically glorious her tone becomes. Indeed, hurdles do not exist for her, and the usual descriptive and critical terms are useless, if only because they suggest comparison with other artists suddenly dwarfed by the incomparable. Such phrases as “a tonal palette ranging from guttural coruscations to the most brilliantly glowing scintillance” simply will not do. There is a touch of the uncanny here, even a suggestion of the human voice—as of whispers, sighs, moans, wailing—in which the notes dissolve into a direct spiritual prehension. Ibragimova does not play or perform—she utterly possesses.

The Mythes are sung to visible apparition in the mind’s eye, the quivering ear. The Violin Sonata, rather than a short-winded and formally clumsy exercise set off by empurpled lyricism, acquires conviction, dignity, and the compelling utterance of an indisputable masterpiece. The Paganini re-writes buzz and hum with preternatural poetry, the attenuations of La berceuse d’Aïtacho Enia become a radiant aura, and even the gilded lily Romance seems to reveal some lurid secret. One is reminded of the fabled Liszt-Thalberg “duel.” You recall the verdict— “Thalberg is the greatest pianist in the world.” Violinists, some very great ones among them, are Thalbergs. And you remember the sponsoring princess’s final qualifier—“Liszt is the only pianist in the world.” The world of the violin has suffered a tsunami—Ibragimova is in a class by herself. The undisclosed recording venue is open and both instruments, exquisitely balanced, are captured at the point where detail flares into color. Recommendation is superfluous.

-- Adrian Corleonis, FANFARE

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/w454/
https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/szymanowski-complete-violin-piano-works
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/Nov09/Szymanowski_Ibragimova_cda67703.htm
https://www.thestrad.com/5229.article
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/28/szymanowski-ibragimova
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Szymanowski-Violin-Piano-Music-Ibragimova/dp/B001UWOIPK

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Karol Szymanowski (6 October 1882 – 29 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist, the most celebrated Polish composer of the early 20th century. His career divided in 3 periods. The early works show the influence of the late Romantic German school as well as the early works of Alexander Scriabin. Later, he developed an impressionistic and partially atonal style. His third period was influenced by the folk music of the Polish Górale people. He is considered a member of the late 19th-/early 20th-century modernist movement Young Poland and widely viewed as one of the greatest Polish composers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karol_Szymanowski

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Alina Ibragimova (born 28 September 1985 in Polevskoy, Russian SSR) is a Russian-British violinist. She studied under Valentina Korolkova at the Gnessin State Musical College in Moscow, then under Natasha Boyarskaya at the Yehudi Menuhin School in London. Ibragimova was a member of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme 2005-7. She has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award 2010. She performs on a c.1775 Anselmo Bellosio provided by Georg von Opel, and records for Hyperion label.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alina_Ibragimova
http://www.alinaibragimova.com/

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Cédric Tiberghien (born 5 May 1975) is a French pianist. He studied piano with Michèle Perrier in Noyon, and with Frédéric Aguessy and Gérard Frémy at the Paris Conservatory, where he received the Premier Prix in 1992, at the age of 17. He won a number of international awards, such as 6th prize at the 1995 Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv and Premier Grand Prix at the 1998 Marguerite-Long-Jacques-Thibaud Competition in Paris. From 2005 to 2007, Tiberghien is part of the New Generation Artists of the BBC. He recorded severals recordings for Harmonia Mundi and Hyperion.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9dric_Tiberghien

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