Zimmermann
Fairy-Tale Suite
Mendelssohn
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op.64
Dvorak
Symphony no. 7 in D minor, Op.70
Alina Ibragimova (violin)
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Elena Schwarz
Reviewed by: Rob Pennock
Reviewed: 4 August, 2026
Venue: Promenade Concert, broadcast on Radio 3, given at the Royal Albert Hall, London
Written in 1950, Zimmermann’s Suite, which is rarely performed, uses a large percussion section to offer colour as opposed to clout. After the sparce introduction with filigrees of instrumental sound, the music takes on a distinctly baroque and neo-classical feel. The percussion led march with piano, drums and snarling trombones, increases in intensity to a ferocious end. An ethereal nocturne beautifully scored with harps and percussion, set against fragments of plaintive woodwind melody and solo violin, expands into washes of almost impressionistic sound. The ensuing allegro, which sounds like a mid-20th century take on El Cid or Ben Hur, with hints of Stravinsky and Holst’s Planets, leads into the next slow movement, which was, perhaps, a little non-descript. The concluding processional is again vibrantly scored and some of the chords were reminiscent of John Barry’s Goldfinger score. Unfortunately, the performance was rather tentative, the audience response muted
At a flowing, but not hurried tempo, Ibragimova’s tone at the start of the Mendelssohn was sweet, her stopping before the orchestral tutti decidedly romantic, although the orchestral playing was bland, on the radio they seemed to take too much of a back seat and more weight wouldn’t have gone amiss. However, as the movement progressed there was plenty of old-world tempo variation, but Ibragimova lacked the personality of a Grumiaux or a Kogan in the cadenza.
The Andante was elegant but too fast, in the central section one longed for a bigger string band to truly sing the sweeping tune and more depth of feeling when the opening returns. Ibragimova danced her way delightfully through the finale at speed. But turn to Heifetz and the New York Philharmonic under Cantelli live and there is even more personality, nee charisma, and the conducting and orchestral playing are in a different class.
The announcer needless to say told us how wonderful the performance was and how much love there was for the soloist in the hall.
Many conductors can’t and couldn’t resist the temptation to insert unwritten tempo changes in Dvorak’s Symphonies, which Schwarz occasionally did in a restrained way, at a forward moving tempo in the opening movement of surely his greatest, the Seventh.
At the start of the Poco adagio the woodwind lacked character and their varying dynamics weren’t audible. Schwarz’s tempo was also too fast – why are so many modern conductors and soloists seemingly frightened of expansive tempi? – to allow this profoundly beautiful Poco adagio music to truly speak. The phrasing was nothing special and more attack wouldn’t have gone amiss in the forte outbursts.
The dance-like Scherzo is in the dark key of D Minor, the flip to G major in the Trio was effective but Schwarz failed to grab the music by the scruff of the neck in the way the likes of Barbirolli, Kertesz and Monteux did.
Schwarz did nothing wrong in the finale, indeed there was plenty of attack, with a suitably imposing coda. But the sense of drive, power and concentration that great conductors bring to this stupendous music was absent and with the best will in the world this BBC orchestra is not the Berlin Philharmonic.
Nevertheless, the announcer told us it had been an enchanting evening.
Read Chris Caspell’s review of this concert here