Prom 21: Alina Ibragimova plays Bach (1.08.15)

[David-G]

5-star review by Richard Morrison in the Times.

"A single player, a single instrument, a single silver thread of sound spun under the massive dome of the Albert Hall ... the most mesmerising experience of the Proms so far."

[Tony Halstead]

5-star review by Richard Morrison in the Times.

"A single player, a single instrument, a single silver thread of sound spun under the massive dome of the Albert Hall ... the most mesmerising experience of the Proms so far."

Totally agreed.
I was somewhat underwhelmed by today's 'Torygraph' review by John Allison ( '3 stars out of 5') who wrote e.g.
"she gave introverted performances even with the Albert Hall (sic) looming over her"
and
"playing with almost no vibrato, her tone tended towards monotony"
and finally
"it's certainly a point of view in these works, but then why perform them in such a cavernous space?"

NB Disclaimer: I hardly EVER buy the T-graph but this morning my newsagent had run out of my usual morning read... furthermore I wanted to see what that organ had written about the late Sir Edward Heath, under whose baton I had performed maybe half a dozen times as a player with the LSO and ECO in the 1970s-1980s.

[Tony Halstead]

As readers will no doubt gather, I am a fan of Ms Ibragimova's violin playing.
Unfortunately I can't say the same for her Quartet, whose visual antics are so distracting that they force you to listen with your eyes closed.

[Richard Tarleton]

It seems we are getting all 6 on TV - sonatas 1 and 2 and partita no 1 on BBC4 tomorrow (Thursday 20), the balance on Thursday week. Hosted by Samira Ahmed. One to record on my satellite box hard drive. A Schiff's Goldberg on TV on Sept 3.

[wenotsoira]

I heard some of it. Truly awful. Bring back Nigel kennedy.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

"playing with almost no vibrato, her tone tended towards monotony"

I agreed with that bit. Vibrato was no stranger to the 1700s.

[wenotsoira]

A trerrible sound, poor bow control, dodgy intonation, musically dead. Just my opinion. Listen to really great players. Example, Milstein.

[Tony Halstead]

Alina - Bach

I just heard the D minor Partita on TV.
What fabulous playing.
The Chaconne was 'up there with the greatest' - yes, even Milstein, Ari!

My wife who is a baroque violin specialist has confirmed that Alina used a modern not a baroque bow, the pitch was modern A=440, and the strings were almost certainly not 'all gut' but probably 'covered gut' on the three lower strings and a steel E string.
This info does not in any way detract from her wonderful playing which was - although 'HIPP influenced'
( minimal vibrato but definitely not 'vibrato-less') notable for its rhetorical poise and 'time taking' where appropriate.
What a relief to hear HIPP that doesn't result in everything being played as fast as possible!

[pastoralguy]

For me, the sheer ability to stand, alone, on the stage of the RAH with a live radio audience and a TV crew recording it is itself quite a feat. And that's before a note has been played!

Yes, she's quite a talent. I thought she really started to 'let go' in the chaconne and her playing just got better and better.

Doesn't look she has an adjuster for her E string.

[french frank]

I just heard the D minor Partita on TV.
What fabulous playing.

There were doubts about these solo concerts at the start but for me they are the gems which could be one way forward for the Proms - chamber music at RAH.

Delighted that Ibragimova's playing should have had such weighty approval! Individual - and valid performance.

[pastoralguy]

How DARE people suggest the licence fee is too much!!

[Richard Tarleton]

Fabulous performances. The first concert was pretty good, the D Minor Partita tonight was brilliant, but it seemed to me that it was in the C Major Sonata that the concert and the series became most completely transcendent. She was more visibly enjoying herself too, with a beatific smile on her face for a good deal of the time. I've never heard the minuets, bourrée and gigue of the E major played in such a dance-like, tripping way - just superb.

Samira finally asked her about her violin - didn't quite catch it, I heard "Anselmo" and Venice, 1780 - was that Anselmo Bellosio or Pietro Anselmo? Not that I'd know the difference, just curious. I'll be listening again, anyway.

[ahinton]

I really could not agree more about these remarkable performances and, as I think I mentioned earlier in another thread, I had grave misgivings about them beforehand despite already having immense admiration for Ibragimova - how could this work? It worked because she made it do so - and how!

[french frank]

Samira finally asked her about her violin - didn't quite catch it, I heard "Anselmo" and Venice, 1780 - was that Anselmo Bellosio or Pietro Anselmo? Not that I'd know the difference, just curious. I'll be listening again, anyway.

"Alina records for Hyperion Records and performs on a c.1775 Anselmo Bellosio violin kindly provided by Georg von Opel."

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

It was a little strange that the BBC should decide to transmit this recording at the very same time as the same violinist was performing live on Radio 3.