Alina Ibragimova
Encyclopedia
Alina Ibragimova is a Russia
n-born violin
ist residing in the UK.
, Russia
in a Tatar family. Her family was musical, and she began playing the violin at the age of four. At five she started at the Gnessin State Musical College
in Moscow
, studying under Valentina Korolkova, and by the age of six had started her career by playing with various orchestras, including the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
. She was aged ten in 1996 when her father, Rinat Ibragimov, took up the post of principal double bass with the London Symphony Orchestra
, and the family moved to live in England
. In the following year Ibragimova began her studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School
(where her mother is professor of violin) under Natasha Boyarskaya
.
In December 1998 Ibragimova performed with Nicola Benedetti
at the opening ceremony of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
at UNESCO
in Paris
; they played Bach
's double violin concerto
under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin
. Menuhin died three months later, and Ibragimova performed the slow movement of the same concerto at his funeral in Westminster Abbey
.
After finishing her studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Ibragimova went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
for a year, and then to the Royal College of Music
, studying under Gordan Nikolitch
. Ibragimova has also studied with Christian Tetzlaff since 2000, most recently under the auspices of the Kronberg Academy
Masters programme.
Together with other students from the Royal College, she formed the period-instrument
string quartet
Chiaroscuro, specialising in music from the classical period.
's second violin concerto
with the Kremerata Baltica
in Mozartwoche at the Salzburg Mozarteum
.
Ibragimova was a member of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme
2005-7. She has performed concertos with the London Symphony Ochestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Philharmonia Orchestra
, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
, BBC Symphony Orchestra
, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, and the Seattle Symphony
, working with conductors including Sir Charles Mackerras, Valery Gergiev
, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Paavo Järvi
, Richard Hickox
and Osmo Vänskä
.
In recital and chamber music in chamber music Ibragimova has appeared at venues including the Wigmore Hall London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salzburg Mozarteum, Musikverein Vienna, Carnegie Hall New York, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Vancouver Recital Series, and at festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, MDR Musiksommer, Lockenhaus, Manchester International, and Aldeburgh. With her regular recital partner Alina performed the complete Beethoven violin sonatas at the Wigmore Hall
London in 2009/10 (the recordings of which were released on the Wigmore Hall Live label).
Her first CD
for Hyperion Records
was the complete violin works of Karl Amadeus Hartmann
in 2007, which was followed by the two violin concertos of Nikolai Roslavets
in 2008, a disc of the complete violin and piano works by Karol Szymanowski
, and the JS Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin in 2009.
Ibragimova has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society
Young Artist Award 2010, and Emily Anderson Prize (the youngest-ever winner), Borletti-Buitoni Trust, and a Classical BRIT. She performs performs on a 1738 violin by Pietro Guarneri
of Venice.
Alina Ibragimova at Zaha Hadid Pavilion in Manchester performing Bach
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist residing in the UK.
Early life and education
Ibragimova was born in PolevskoyPolevskoy
Polevskoy is a town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Yekaterinburg. Population: 60,000 ; 25,000 .-History:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in a Tatar family. Her family was musical, and she began playing the violin at the age of four. At five she started at the Gnessin State Musical College
Gnessin State Musical College
The Gnessin State Musical College and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music is a prominent music school in Moscow, Russia...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, studying under Valentina Korolkova, and by the age of six had started her career by playing with various orchestras, including the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
. She was aged ten in 1996 when her father, Rinat Ibragimov, took up the post of principal double bass with the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, and the family moved to live in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In the following year Ibragimova began her studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School
Yehudi Menuhin School
The Yehudi Menuhin School is a specialist music school in Surrey, England. It was founded in 1963 by the violinist Yehudi Menuhin.The School also gives pupils the best musical education any specialist schools can with a number of internationally main teachers, Simon Fischer , Natalya Boyarskaya ,...
(where her mother is professor of violin) under Natasha Boyarskaya
Natasha Boyarskaya
Natalya Konstantinovna Boyarskaya is a Russian violinist and music teacher. She is the wife of the cellist Alexander Boyarsky and mother of the violinist Konstantin Boyarsky.-Life:...
.
In December 1998 Ibragimova performed with Nicola Benedetti
Nicola Benedetti
- Early life and the Yehudi Menuhin School :Benedetti was born in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire to an Italian father and a Scottish mother. She started to learn the violin at the age of four...
at the opening ceremony of the 50th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
at UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; they played Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's double violin concerto
Double Violin Concerto (Bach)
The Concerto for 2 Violins, Strings and Continuo in D Minor, BWV 1043, also known as the Double Violin Concerto or "Bach Double", is perhaps one of the most famous works by J. S. Bach and considered among the best examples of the work of the late Baroque period. Bach wrote it between 1730 and 1731...
under the baton of Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
. Menuhin died three months later, and Ibragimova performed the slow movement of the same concerto at his funeral in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
After finishing her studies at the Yehudi Menuhin School, Ibragimova went on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
for a year, and then to the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
, studying under Gordan Nikolitch
Gordan Nikolitch
Gordan Nikolitch is a Serbian violinist. He is the leader of the London Symphony Orchestra.Gordan Nikolitch began playing the violin when he was seven. He studied at the Musikhochschule in Basel, Switzerland, where he studied with Jean-Jacques Kantorow...
. Ibragimova has also studied with Christian Tetzlaff since 2000, most recently under the auspices of the Kronberg Academy
Kronberg Academy
Kronberg Academy is an international cultural institution based in Kronberg im Taunus, Germany, for the education and support of highly gifted young violinists, violists and especially cellists. Studies are supported by a biennial Cello Festival and the International Pablo Casals Cello Competition...
Masters programme.
Together with other students from the Royal College, she formed the period-instrument
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
Chiaroscuro, specialising in music from the classical period.
Career
After winning several international competitions, in 2002 Ibragimova won the London Symphony Orchestra Music Scholarship (formerly the Shell Prize), which was an important boost to her solo career. The next breakthrough came in 2005 when Ibragimova played and directed MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's second violin concerto
Violin Concerto No. 2 (Mozart)
Violin Concerto No. 2 in D major K. 211 was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1775. The concerto has the usual fast-slow-fast structure. The movements of the work have the tempo headings:# Allegro moderato# Andante# Rondeau, Allegro...
with the Kremerata Baltica
Kremerata Baltica
Kremerata Baltica is a chamber orchestra consisting of young musicians from Baltic countries . It was founded by Gidon Kremer in 1997.The name is a pun on camerata, the general word applying to various chamber music groups....
in Mozartwoche at the Salzburg Mozarteum
Universität Mozarteum Salzburg
In Salzburg, the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, the University of Music and Dramatic Arts Mozarteum Salzburg, honours the Austrian city's most famous son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.-History:...
.
Ibragimova was a member of the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme
BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme
BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists scheme was devised by BBC Radio 3 Editor Adam Gatehouse and launched in 1999. It exists as part of the BBC's commitment to nurture young musical talent. Every autumn six to seven young artists who are beginning to make a mark on the national and international...
2005-7. She has performed concertos with the London Symphony Ochestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. The Orchestra's current chief executive, appointed in 1999, is Stephen Maddock...
, BBC Symphony Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra
The BBC Symphony Orchestra is the principal broadcast orchestra of the British Broadcasting Corporation and one of the leading orchestras in Britain.-History:...
, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, and the Seattle Symphony
Seattle Symphony
The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra's season runs from September through July, and serves as the pit orchestra for most productions of the Seattle Opera in addition to its own concerts...
, working with conductors including Sir Charles Mackerras, Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Paavo Järvi
Paavo Järvi
Paavo Järvi is an Estonian-American conductor, and current Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris.Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to conductor Neeme Järvi and Liilia Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also musicians...
, Richard Hickox
Richard Hickox
Richard Sidney Hickox CBE was an English conductor of choral, orchestral and operatic music.-Early life:Hickox was born in Stokenchurch in Buckinghamshire into a musical family...
and Osmo Vänskä
Osmo Vänskä
Osmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist and composer.He started his musical career as an orchestral clarinetist with the Turku Philharmonic . He then became the principal clarinet of the Helsinki Philharmonic from 1977 to 1982...
.
In recital and chamber music in chamber music Ibragimova has appeared at venues including the Wigmore Hall London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salzburg Mozarteum, Musikverein Vienna, Carnegie Hall New York, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Vancouver Recital Series, and at festivals including Salzburg, Verbier, MDR Musiksommer, Lockenhaus, Manchester International, and Aldeburgh. With her regular recital partner Alina performed the complete Beethoven violin sonatas at the Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a leading international recital venue that specialises in hosting performances of chamber music and is best known for classical recitals of piano, song and instrumental music. It is located at 36 Wigmore Street, London, UK and was built to provide London with a venue that was both...
London in 2009/10 (the recordings of which were released on the Wigmore Hall Live label).
Her first CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
for Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
was the complete violin works of Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann
Karl Amadeus Hartmann was a German composer. Some have lauded him as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century, although he is now largely overlooked, particularly in English-speaking countries.-Life:...
in 2007, which was followed by the two violin concertos of Nikolai Roslavets
Nikolai Roslavets
Nikolai Andreevich Roslavets was a significant Soviet modernist composer. Roslavets was a convinced modernist and cosmopolitan thinker; his music was officially suppressed from 1930 onwards....
in 2008, a disc of the complete violin and piano works by Karol Szymanowski
Karol Szymanowski
Karol Maciej Szymanowski was a Polish composer and pianist.-Life:Szymanowski was born into a wealthy land-owning Polish gentry family in Tymoszówka, then in the Russian Empire, now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine. He studied music privately with his father before going to Gustav Neuhaus'...
, and the JS Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin in 2009.
Ibragimova has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Royal Philharmonic Society
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society is a British music society, formed in 1813. It was originally formed in London to promote performances of instrumental music there. Many distinguished composers and performers have taken part in its concerts...
Young Artist Award 2010, and Emily Anderson Prize (the youngest-ever winner), Borletti-Buitoni Trust, and a Classical BRIT. She performs performs on a 1738 violin by Pietro Guarneri
Guarneri
The Guarneri is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati and Stradivari families...
of Venice.
Sources and external links
- Ibragimova's Website
- "Class of 2007" (BBC Music Magazine 15:7, March 2007; p. 29)
Alina Ibragimova at Zaha Hadid Pavilion in Manchester performing Bach