A Genuine Partnership

Wigmore Hall in London is renowned as THE chamber music venue and this disc on its' own Wigmore Hall Live label is chamber music par excellence. The title is Violin Sonatas - 1 and is the first of a traversal of all Beethoven's violin sonatas by the duo of violinist Alina Ibragimova and pianist Cedric Tiberghien. This particular generously filled volume contains four sonatas from early and middle period Beethoven. The violin sonata was a form that he only tackled during a concentrated period of his life, six years as opposed to for instance the string quartets which covered most of his career. There is still a clear progression to be traced however. The recording quality here is crystalline and shows all the qualities of the hall's famous acoustics. The pair of performers are both rapidly rising solo stars in their own right but have an obvious love and affinity for chamber music and play as a genuine partnership, each sensitive to the demands of the music and each other. There is no grandstanding, just a sense of joy in shared music making. This is a genuine partnership and the remainder of the cycle wil be well worth collecting.