QPAC

The exhilarating virtuoso returns to direct the Australian Chamber Orchestra in a program full of intensity and passion

Alina Ibragimova is an electrifying performer. She lives every moment of the music, inhabiting the emotion so completely you almost miss her technical mastery. A virtuoso in every sense of the word, she invites audiences into her world, offering an experience that is both authentic and thrilling.

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major is a concerto so demanding it was deemed unplayable by its original dedicatee. Reeling from a disastrous marriage and withdrawn from the world, Tchaikovsky sketched it in just 11 days, pouring his melancholy and restlessness into a work that audiences love and violinists savour. It encompasses romance and passion, pulsing with the dynamic rhythms of folk dance.

Bookended by Tchaikovsky, the concert opens with Anton Arensky’s Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky: a lush string work of contrast and colour, at times playful and offbeat, at times tender and sonorous. Bacewicz’s shimmering Divertimento for String Orchestra offers a moment to showcase the invigorating brilliance and virtuosity of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) and contrasts with a new commission from Pēteris Vasks, beloved for his languid, meditative music that speaks of longing, beauty and hope. 

Consider this concert a celebration of human endeavour. This is music that demands mastery and expresses the full range of human emotion.