Zulya Ibragimova

The recordings of Mozart's works for piano and violin (as the packaging puts it, with historical accuracy) by pianist Cédric Tiberghien and violinist Alina Ibragimova roll on, with continuing impressive results. This volume is representative of the series, for those who are looking to try out just one album. As with the earlier albums, the program includes a strong complement of works from Mozart's childhood, and Ibragimova and Tiberghien work wonders with these.

Mozart's violin sonatas come mostly from the first part of his career and probably wouldn't have been counted by the composer among his most significant works. They're transitional between the configuration of piano with optional violin accompaniment and that with the violinist in the lead; pianist Cédric Tiberghien here properly receives top billing, and he catches the right balance with violinist Alina Ibragimova.

Sergey Prokofiev's output for violin and piano was quite small, and it would have been limited to the Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor had he not also arranged his Five Songs Without Words and the Flute Sonata in D major, the latter at the request of David Oistrakh. One experiences a degree of discomfort in the Violin Sonata No. 1, which is one of Prokofiev's more unsettling pieces, due in part to its sinister tone and harsh dissonances, but also to its conflicting expressions.

Telemann may have written his twelve fantasias for the amateur market, but he would surely have rejoiced to hear such superlative performances as these. Alina Ibragimova again demonstrates just what can be accomplished on the four strings of a solo violin.

The prospect of hearing Alina Ibragimova in two of the most important concertos written for the violin is in itself irresistibly enticing, but Shostakovich aficionados will also welcome an opportunity to hear the rarely performed original opening to the Burlesque of No.1, subsequently made less fearsome for the soloist at the request of the work's dedicatee, David Oistrakh.

The preeminent violin and piano partnership of Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien give matchless accounts of Brahms's three Violin Sonatas. The works, which reveal the composer at his most lyrically reflective, are coupled with a fabulous encore by Clara Schumann.

The violinist releases the results of a uniquely ambitious "lockdown project" – a barnstorming new account of Paganini's fiendish Caprices, recorded in the late spring of 2020.
The transcendental heroics of Paganini’s Caprices have presented the ultimate test for generations of violinists; Alina Ibragimova’s accounts of this most exclusive repertoire join a select few of the most celebrated.