JS Bach: Violin Concertos & Orchestral Suite No. 3 - Ibragimova

There are Bach recordings that inform, and there are Bach recordings that illuminate. This disc, featuring the young Russian-British violinist Alina Ibragimova at the helm of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Kraemer, belongs firmly in the second category. Recorded for the BBC Music Magazine Collection (Vol. 16, No. 1), it pairs two of Bach's most beloved violin concertos with the magnificent Orchestral Suite No. 3 and, as its crowning centrepiece, the monumental Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 in D minor — fourteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds of music that stands as one of the most searching and profound statements in the entire solo violin repertoire.

Ibragimova's playing is distinguished by an uncommon combination of technical precision and expressive freedom. In the Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor BWV 1041, her tone is lean and focused, the ornamentation judicious and never fussy. The Concerto No. 2 in E major BWV 1042 brings a sunnier disposition, its outer movements dispatched with infectious energy and its central Adagio given room to breathe with rare sensitivity. Kraemer's direction of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is alert and sympathetic throughout, the ensemble playing with the kind of stylistic awareness that makes period-informed performance on modern instruments entirely convincing.

The Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major BWV 1068 opens the programme with characteristic grandeur, its famous Air — the source of the celebrated arrangement known as the Air on the G String — delivered with quiet authority. The Times described Ibragimova as “destined to be a force in the classical music firmament”, and this recording is compelling evidence of why.

Programme

Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major BWV 1068

• Ouverture (5:59)
• Air (4:17)
• Gavottes I & II (3:74)
• Bourrée (1:07)
• Gigue (2:41)

Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor BWV 1041

• Allegro moderato (4:40)
• Andante (9:06)
• Allegro assai (4:26)

Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major BWV 1042

• Allegro (7:09)
• Adagio (6:05)
• Allegro assai (7:29)

Chaconne from Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004

• Chaconne (14:57)

Total CD duration: 60:06

Product Specifications

• Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
• Violin: Alina Ibragimova
• Harpsichord & Director: Nicholas Kraemer
• Orchestra: BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
• Series: BBC Music Magazine Collection, Vol. 16 No. 1
• Label: BBC Music
• Format: Audio CD
• Genre: Classical / Baroque / Violin Concerto
• Weight: 127 g (4.48 oz)
• Dimensions (standard jewel case): 142 mm × 125 mm × 10 mm (5.6 in × 4.9 in × 0.4 in)
• Condition: Preloved