Saturday 21 June 2008

Re-listened to the young folk. Alina Ibragimova's Prokofiev stands up well (not least because of the superb balance between violin and orchestra that, for once, lets you hear the important orchestral part). Gets my three stars.

As does, on a re-hear, Alexandra Soumm. She is not afraid to dig into the violin when called for, nor is she afraid to play piano when she should; no one has yet ironed out her dynamics, and I hope no one ever does. The Bruch was excellent -- though a tendency to linger shows up at times, unlike Ibragimova (or Janine Jansen) who have not given in to that post-1950s temptation. In the days of 4'45" takes on a 78 rpm recording, artists were not encouraged to linger, and the performances (usually) benefited from this.

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