‘Throughout the disc Lane, Botstein and the orchestra play with fervour and total understanding. I like their sometimes more relaxed tempi and the essence of the best of British music is captured to perfection’ (British Music Society Journal)» More

‘If there’s one factor above all that sets these performances apart it’s the osmosis between soloist and conductor. There’s a musical and intellectual friction going on here and it has to do with the balance between head and heart … Ibragimova’s playing has an unvarnished truth about it. It’s the kind of playing that looks you unblinkingly in the eye and tells it like it is. She’s not afraid to ‘invade your space’ or apply pressure to the sound until its rawness is almost unbearable. But equally she (and Jurowski and his marvellous orchestra) catches the emotional remoteness at the dark heart of the first movement [of No 1]’ (Gramophone)

‘Ibragimova, aided by superbly full and colorful orchestral sound … seizes the soul and doesn't let go’ (Stereophile)

‘Ready for some flawless Shostakovich? If so, check out Alina Ibragimova’s new recording of the two Shostakovich violin concertos with the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov' and Vladimir Jurowski: it’s as searing a recording as they come … there’s nothing easy about either of these pieces—they visit some pretty bleak places—yet they’ve rarely been better served on disc than they are here’ (The Arts Fuse, USA)» More

‘Alina Ibragimova is the latest to make you think you’ve never heard [No 1] better played, and her intense relationship with Vladimir Jurowski and the current incarnation of Yevgeny Svetlanov’s ‘orchestra with a voice’, making just as compelling a case for the sequel concerto is supernaturally fine-tuned … the demands on the listener are unrelenting; put a distance between each work so you can come to the sequel fresh for another battering’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘The symphony, which is one continuous span, is an enthralling work … I’d not heard the Viola Concerto before receiving this disc but I enjoyed it very much. Lawrence Power is a superb soloist and his partnership with the BBC Phil and Martyn Brabbins is terrific. The engineering for this disc was in the hands of Stephen Rinker; he’s done an excellent job, presenting the performances in truthful, clear and dynamic sound. The expert notes by Paul Conway give listeners a clear and perceptive guide to the music. Fine performances of two notable scores by James MacMillan make this CD a compelling proposition’ (MusicWeb International)» More

‘In the second concerto the tenderness of her tone is, at times, so elegiac as to amount to an act of mourning for ruined lives. The orchestra, reduced in size, is an echo chamber for the mortally ill composer’s innermost thoughts, those reflections dispelled in the finale by one of his macabre madcap dances. This is an essential record, five star from start to finish’ (The Critic)

‘Alina Ibragimova has the measure of this music, no doubt about it. I can see some listeners who might prefer a beefier basic timbre in the style of Oistrakh, with a less penetrating vibrato on top, but that is a matter of personal taste. By any standard Ibragimova’s playing of these two concertos is superb … terrific, well-balanced engineering caps an excellent release by any measure’ (Classics Today)

‘I've been totally captivated by a new recording of music by Sir James MacMillan. This is the first recording of the Viola Concerto … played with such richness and soulfulness by its dedicatee Lawrence Power, with the BBC Philharmonic conducted by Martyn Brabbins … it sounds superb; it's such a well-balanced recording’ (BBC Record Review)

„Ibragimovas eindrückliche Interpretationen der Werke machen die Aufnahme zu einem eigenen Hörerlebnis“ (Rondo, Germany)

‘We’re now so used to hearing the untempered sound of period brass instruments that Ursula Paludan Monberg’s natural horn playing sounds, well, normal, so well-attuned is it to the repertoire she’s chosen for this solo anthology. Never underestimate the phenomenal difficulty of what she’s doing, though … the young Danish virtuoso Monberg achieves miracles with a length of unadorned brass tubing … Jonathan Cohen’s Arcangelo provide lithe, colourful support and we get informative sleeve notes from fellow hand horn player Andrew Clark’ (TheArtsDesk.com)» More

‘There's a fierceness to her playing that suits the music's searing intensity, and the orchestra's dark-hued woodwinds and brass are added attractions’ (Wall Street Journal)» More