Prokofiev Works for Violin and Piano
Serge Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Hyperion Records CDA67514 | 60'45
Alina Ibragimova - Violin
Gramophone CD of the month
BBC Music Magazine Chamber CD of the month
There is always room for performances of the depth of perception and strength of character that Ibragimova and Osborne give
— The Telegraph
'From the austere opening bars of the First Violin Sonata, one of Prokofiev’s towering masterpieces, it’s clear that this violin-and-piano duo is capable of the subtlest interplay. Steven Osborne is the lion, or the demon, that needs taming by Alina Ibragimova’s fiddler, dancing—sometimes ever so frailly—on the volcano. There are revelations in the outer movements: never have I heard the violin’s tentative B minor melodising as so much the heart of the preludial Andante assai—it's equal in effect to what Prokofiev described as the 'wind in the graveyard’ rushings which appear at the end of that movement and return so strikingly at the end of the work—and the way the scherzo's abrasive insistence returns in the piano bass of the finale is truly hair-raising'
— BBC Music Magazine
'For her new Prokofiev release Ibragimova teams up with Steven Osborne in one of those astute mergers of talent for which Hyperion is well known. Osborne revealed his penchant for Prokofiev last year in the Visions fugitives and Sarcasms that accompanied his compelling, multi-faceted interpretation of Musorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition (CDA67896). In the two Prokofiev violin sonatas, his instincts are just as finely honed … performances of depth of perception and strength of character … shifting kaleidoscopes in the piano part and the subtle vocal inflections of the violin'
— The Daily Telegraph
'The dark moods of the F minor Sonata … are relished to the full by both musicians: the range of colours and the precision of the rhythmic articulation are two notable features of a performance that grips the listener from start to finish, thanks to its unflinching conviction as well as its consummate skill. It’s a magnificent performance. The D major Sonata (originally written for flute and piano and transcribed at Oistrakh’s request) is even better. The attention to detail, to subtle nuances, is breathtaking, and the overall drive and momentum of the performance results in a reading as fine as any I’ve heard, in sound that is better than most It’s interesting to compare Ibragimova and Osborne with Kremer and Argerich (DG). While the latter is a magnificent parrtnership by any standards … I get a feeling of even greater involvement and excitement from the new Hyperion disc … This Prokofiev disc is a triumphant achievement, recommended without reservation'
— International Record Review
'Prokofiev's two violin sonatas make a stark juxtaposition. The F minor is a big-boned, dark-hued expression of feeling that can be taken as mourning for the depredations of Soviet terror; the D major is one of those seraphically contented neoclassical excursions that adorn mid-20th-century music. They are played here with an intense-feeling virtuosity, Ibragimova equally magnificent in restraint—as when executing those 'graveyard' scales slipping in during the F minor—and when belting out, say, the second movement of that work, as strongly contrasted with its predecessor as the whole sonata is with its successor'
— The Sunday Times
'There is something deeply disturbing, and at the same time uplifting, in the violin music of Sergei Prokofiev. Such extremes are encapsulated in this captivating recording of both Violin Sonatas and the Five Melodies by Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova and Scots pianist Steven Osborne. Their reading of the F minor Violin Sonata combines angst-ridden weight with vigorous spirit and blissful moments of timeless beauty. The Five Melodies offer a deliciously poetic and nuanced transition to the brighter skies of the Sonata No 2, a work transcribed from the Flute Sonata, which this duo present with radiant self-assurance'
— The Scotsman
Tracklisting
Violin Sonata No.1 in F minor
I. Andante assai
II. Allegro brusco
III. Andante
IV. Allegrissimo
Five Melodies Op.35bis
I. Andante
II. Lento, ma non troppo
III. Animato, ma non allegro
IV. Allegretto leggero e scherzando
V. Andante no troppo
Violin Sonata No.2 in D major Op.94bis
I. Moderato
II. Scherzo: Presto
III. Andante
IV. Allegro con brio