Composer: Guillaume Lekeu, Maurice Ravel
Performer: Alina Ibragimova, Cédric Tiberghien
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67820
Release: 2011
Size: 675 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Lekeu: Violin Sonata in G major
01. I. Très modéré
02. II. Très lent
03. III. Très animé
04. Ravel: Violin Sonata in A minor ‘Sonate posthume’
Ravel: Violin Sonata No 2 in G major
05. I. Allegretto
06. II. Blues: Moderato
07. III. Perpetuum mobile: Allegro
08. Ravel: Tzigane
09. Ravel: Berceuse sur le nom de Fauré
Maurice Ravel’s mature works for violin and piano have established a central place in the core recital repertoire and are considered among the most popular of the genre. These diverse works acknowledge the influences of a range of musical styles from jazz to Impressionism and fuse the tonal colours of Debussy with the lyricism of Franck.
The posthumously published one-movement Violin Sonata, written by Ravel as a student, is a lyrical precursor to the composer’s stunning Violin Sonata in G major with its unique character and adoption of the ‘blues’ idiom. The spontaneity, tonal colours and exotic soundscapes in Ravel’s violin music call for immense skill in interpretation, and passages in the frenzied Tzigane test the limits of the performers’ virtuosity.
Violinist Alina Ibragmiova rises to these challenges with extraordinary verve. Recent winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious ‘Young Artist of the Year’ award, she displays a vast expressive range and interpretative maturity.
She is accompanied by pianist Cédric Tiberghien, who gives elegant and flawless performances and relishes Ravel’s iridescent piano parts.
The addition of Guillaume Lekeu’s masterwork, the extensive and engaging Violin Sonata, makes this major new release a chamber disc to treasure.