If you experience deja-vu reading that Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien are recording Beethoven’s complete Violin Sonatas, that’s perfectly understandable. The violin-piano duo, who first met as BBC New Generation Artists around two decades ago, have already released an acclaimed cycle, with critics praising their “electrifying partnership”. So why return to well-trodden ground? Well, those recordings were live from Wigmore Hall and released in 2010-11; this latest cycle, launching Ibragimova’s new association with BIS records, was recorded in the studio (in beautiful sound), and captures her latest thoughts on this evergreen music. Plus, Tiberghien this time round plays on a replica 1794 Walter fortepiano from the era, while Ibragimova uses gut strings on her 16th-century Amati violin – taking us into a textured sound-world.
What remains the same is the duo’s vitality and intelligence, resulting in music-making that’s sunnily engaging and unfailingly eloquent. Their longstanding partnership pays off in the hand-in-glove feel of their approach, with interpretative decisions always aligned. They kick off with the set of three Op. 12 Sonatas, written in the winter of 1797-98, but filled with the hopeful ebullience of spring – which makes the Spring Sonata No. 5, Op. 24 an apt conclusion to the program. The bold fanfare opening the Violin Sonata in D sets the mood, paving the way for a lively conservation between the two instrumentalists that’s nimble, varied and energetic. A more relaxed mood infuses the Theme and Variations second movement, before the Rondo finds them on sprightly form, with the playful off-beat sforzandos gleefully dispatched by both players, particularly Ibragimova.
The Third Sonata, placed second here, is in the majestic key of E-flat major, though the pair opt for a fleet-footed rather than expansive tempo in the Allegro con spirito, almost proto-Mendelssohnian in its spirit. Writer Richard Wigmore suggests in his informative booklet note that the central Adagio con molt’ espressione is prophetic of late Beethoven, and Ibragimova and Thibergien certainly mould it into a movement that seems to blend philosophy and music, with long-breathed lines and a sense of deep reverence. Once again, their alert, good humour comes to the fore in the Rondo, which sends us on a merry dance. And that carries over into the buoyant A major Sonata No. 2, with a bubbling Allegro vivace and graceful Allegro Piacevole framing a sweetly melancholic Andante, Più Tosto Allegretto.
If Ibragimov and Tiberghien could never be accused of letting a tempo drag, there’s a delicious feeling of expansiveness to the opening of the Spring Sonata, wonderfully contrasted with the squally second theme. We’re transported to a bucolic scene in the Adagio molto espressivo, the piano’s left-hand accompaniment suggesting a gentle stroll, the right a languid mood, a melody drifting on the wind, and the violin bird calls. Beethoven is entirely in command in this sonata, cast in four movements rather than the three of the earlier Op. 12.
A hiccupping Scherzo gives way to a lovely Rondo, elegantly shaped by Ibragimova and Tiberghien. A joy to listen as a standalone album, it also all bodes exceptionally well for the rest of the series.
Composer: Beethoven
Works: Violin Sonatas Volume 1
Performers: Alina Ibragimova v, Cédric Tiberghien fp
Label: BIS BIS2724 (SACD)
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