Mendelssohn: Hebrides Overture, Op. 26 ('Fingal's Cave')

“Ibragimova, with her wonderfully full, malleable tone, sinewy agility and deft expressiveness, proves a compelling exponent of this brilliant teenage score, combining it on this disc with an equally ear-catching performance of the later E minor Concerto...Ibragimova here adopts a style that goes hand in glove with the OAE’s, sparing with vibrato, lithe in articulation but at the same time appealingly reflective in the slow central movement.” The Telegraph, 28th September 2012 ****

“Ibragimova's playing combines verve, brilliance and imaginative intelligence. Mendelssohn's dynamics are scrupulously observed...But if listeners that they are hearing an approximation of an 1840s performance, they should think again. No one could accuse Ibragimova of vibrating excessively, yet she uses vibrato on the modern way, to aid tone production and projection.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2012

“what was the thinking behind teaming together a soloist who uses vibrato, albeit tastefully, and a string band who don't? Not that I necessarily object to the result...Ibragimova's sensitive playing wins the day, with some superlative quiet moments and at all times a loyal adherence to the composer's markings and a sure sense of the music's phrasing and architecture.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 *****

“At first sight Mendelssohn might not seem an Ibragimova composer, though he’s never been far from her fingers...She returns to [the D minor Concerto] here, now burnished with the mature musician’s chameleon grasp of colours and modes of attack, and knack for febrile excitements. The same gifts keep the warhorse Concerto in E minor continually fresh.” The Times, 5th October 2012 ****

“her subtle changes of colour and prodigious range of articulation are things to wonder at. The outer movements of the E minor Concerto are dazzling: Ibragimova sets off at a fearsome pace in the finale and not only sustains it, but keeps every detail of her phrasing crystal clear in the process” The Guardian, 18th October 2012 ****

“Her absolute unanimity with the woodwind, which joins her in the scampering main theme, is breathtaking, and her occasional discrete use of portamento feels completely apt. This is a delightful, compelling performance from beginning to end, the equal of any in the catalogue.” bbc.co.uk, 29th October 2012

“Ibragimova’s performance suggests she perceives Mendelssohn as a pure classicalist. She and conductor Jurowski downplays any aspect of the music that might suggest Mendelssohn harbored any Romantic inclinations. The performance uses very little rubato, and Jurowski urges the orchestra ever forward” MusicWeb International, March 2013

“Maag gives Fingal's Cave the full "poetical" treatment … The LSO plays superbly throughout, in the very highest class of orchestral playing” Gramophone Magazine (Hebrides Overture)

“An exceptionally good quality of recording illuminates the Decca record, with a rich and entirely natural orchestral sound free from any audible artificialities at all. As the London Symphony Orchestia is also on top of its form, Mendelssohn emerges in the most favourable of lights.” Gramophone Magazine (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)

“the performances throughout will be found to be polished, stylish and full of character” Gramophone Magazine (Delibes, Chopin)

“These performances turn out to be the exact opposite anyone might expect from Klemperer… I like the opening tempo of the “Italian” enormously … the final Saltarello goes with great zest, the recording has excellent soft playing and the performance is everywhere very good.” Gramophone Magazine

“Karajan's Berlin Philharmonic performance is worthy of Mendelssohn's inspiration, and this CD makes a splendid memento of a famous Scottish visit.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition