Strings Magazine

October 2008 issue

A native of Iceland, Judith Ingolfsson began studying the violin at the age of three. Her teachers included Dayid Cerone, Donald Weilerstein, and the legendary artist Jascha Brodsky.  She made her debut at the age of eight in Germany, and in the course of the following years, entered - and won – seemingly every local, regional, national, and international contest. She look prizes at the Concert Artist Guild and Paganini competitions and, in 1998, won the Gold Medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. She now lives and teaches in Germany, the scene of her debut, and a central location for her flourishing concert and recording career.

Ingolfsson is a splendid violinist. Her virtuosity is dazzling, but never for show; her tone is warm, pure and beautiful. Her performance of the Tchaikovsky Concerto on this CD, recorded live in Budapest, has a heart-on-the-sleeve quality (complete with lots of slides) that would seems excessive if it were not so genuinely felt. The opening is dreamy and quite slow, heralding an approach leisurely enough to bring out significant lines, make tempo changes, take liberties, and hold fermatas. The second movement, played without mute, is very slow for an Andante and perhaps too ponderous for a canzonetta. The finale is brilliant, full of humor and character.

The orchestra is supportive, but sometimes too loud. Its performance of the symphony is excellent: romantic, free, and colorful. The string sound is warm, the wind solos are lovely.
Rico Saccani, an American conductor despite his Italian name, received Hungary’s Legion of Honor award for his musical contributions during his 20-year residence in Budapest.

- Edith Eisler 

Philadelphia Inquirer

October 8, 2000
“Icelandic violinist Judith Ingolfsson makes a stunning impression in a debut disc that includes Rorem's Autumn Music, Bloch's Poeme Mystique and Bach's Sonata No. 3 in C major... Ingolfsson does wondrously delicate and powerful things with Bach's Sonata for violin alone.”

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

September 24, 2000
“Violinist Judith Ingolfsson made a hit last season at the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Here is her debut recital disc, "Judith Ingolfsson" (Catalpa Classics 30101), the result of her winning the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1998. Her pure tone and sensitive readings of music by Ernst Bloch, J.S. Bach, Ned Rorem (the world premiere recording of his "Autumn Music") and Henryk Wieniawski (a gaudy transcription of themes from Gounod's "Faust") make her success easy to understand.”

Fanfare Magazine

Sept. /Oct. 2000 Issue
“… ardent and impassioned. The violinist’s unique poetry, personalizing each of the diverse works, carries the recital. This sensitivity, rarer now perhaps than in past generations, should ingratiate her with audiences. And this first collection deserves more thoughtful attention than that almost automatically accorded to the megahyped debuts of hothoused prodigies. Highly recommended.”