Press
The Washington Post (Washington, DC)
June 17, 2008
"Violinist Judith Ingolfsson and pianist Vladimir Stoupel brought power and purpose to a varied duo program at the National Gallery on Sunday.
'Offerto' by Icelandic composer Haflidi Hallgrímsson (b. 1941) is a four-movement essay for solo violin with a lot of twittering and shimmering. One often heard a surprising connection between Iceland and Japan in the pointillistic sounds. Ingolfsson draws a clear, ringing tone from her instrument, the overtones enhanced by pinpoint intonation. She applied vibrato only to longer notes, which is a risky choice, but the purity and detail of her playing compensated.
When they played together, the sum of these two fine artists produced moments of great imagination."
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt, Germany) January 16, 2008
Heavenly Devil’s Trills - The violinist Judith Ingolfsson, who won the 1998 “International Violin Competition of Indianapolis,” performed in Frankfurt/Main at the highest level with her duo partner, pianist Vladimir Stoupel.
The Icelandic violinist and the Russian pianist rendered with distinct agogic Beethoven’s Violin Sonata no. 10 in G Major, op. 96 – at once brilliant, nimble, tendentiously soft, discreet, and with thoughtfully chosen tempos. As a duo, they showed themselves to be most advantageously attuned to each other. Their sensitive communication made an impeccably refined impression. Judith Ingolfsson displayed enormous solistic virtuosity in Giuseppe Tartini’s Sonata in g-minor “Il trillo del diavolo.” As she explained, this is her own version of the “Devil’s Trill Sonata,” which “incorporates” the continuo accompaniment through the addition of supplementary voices. This made this technically difficult composition even more complicated and led to an almost permanent two-part or polyphonic texture. Judith Ingolfsson, employing a modern violin bow, mastered all this with instinctive certainty, fluency, and ease.
In contrast to the agogics in the Beethoven and the strong rubato with which Stoupel played Robert Schumann’s Arabesque in C Major, op. 18 at the beginning of the concert, Stravinsky’s Divertimento for violin and piano, based on his ballet “The Fairy’s Kiss,” came across as vigorously kinetic, often boisterous and dance-like."
The Daily Camera (Boulder, CO) December 29, 2007
"Vital violin - In December Ingolfsson was joined here by her recital partner Vladimir Stoupel in a program that set new standards for CU recitals. Eugene Ysaye's works for violin solo have made a sudden return to the repertory, and in most performances one wonders why. They often come across as poor man's Bach. Ingolfsson unveiled both the power and the beauty of Ysaye's Ballade No. 3 in a performance that had the audience on the edge of its seat."
Nuvo News (Indianapolis, IN) February 28, 2007
“In Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat, her tone and her timbres carried just the right insouciance to join convincingly in the battle for the soldier’s soul... the violinist confirmed her status among the top laureates in the IVCI’s history.”
Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, KY) February 25, 2007
“It is a disconcerting world that inhabits Sibelius' Violin Concerto... the violin is a furious, stormy wind, and Ingolfsson rode that wind with aplomb. Her best tone was her singing low strings, as though a human voice is offering solace. She negotiated the virtuoso sections of the finale like a kayaker in ruinously difficult river rapids -- not one wipe-out.”
Neue Musik Zeitung (Germany) January, 2007
“The violinist Judith Ingolfsson was musically outstanding in her performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto in A major.”
The Daily Camera (Boulder, CO) December 31, 2006
"Violinist Judith Ingolfsson gave a knockout performance of the Tchaikovsky Concerto"
The Durango Herald, October 10, 2006
"Ingolfsson... played with a pure, singing tone and projected ease and confidence from the stage. So masterful were the virtuoso sections that they became truly expressive gestures rather than piles of notes. Combined with her exotic beauty and widely-noted style sense, Ingolfsson's musicality kept the audience rapt."
Saratovskaya Oblastnaya Gazeta (Russia) May 20, 2006
“The naturalness of her artistic message, beautiful, deep sound, meticulously pure intonation, along with her lovely appearance and stage presence, made an extremely strong impression.”
Courier-Journal, (Louisville, KY) April 7, 2006
"Mozart's K. 219 concerto benefited from Ingolfsson's balance of assertiveness and cool precision. Few violinists can play softly without sacrificing the fullness of their musical lines; Ingolfsson succeeded whenever the challenge presented itself."
Chestnut Hill LOCAL, (Philadelphia, PA) October 20, 2005
"Internationally acclaimed violinist Judith Ingolfsson was the splendid soloist in Mozart's 'Turkish' Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major. Her playing was characterized by a clear yet sweet tone, immaculate pitch, digital integrity and touching lyricism."
The Strad, September 2005
"Mendelssohn was also the highlight of a Solstice Music Festival performance. An intriguingly diverse set of songs was followed by Wieniawski's Fantasie Brillante on themes from Gounod's Faust and Mendelssohn's Octet. Violinist Judith Ingolfsson, the festival's artistic director, is a fine player; Her octaves were clean, her left hand agile and her tone often seductively sweet... The Mendelssohn was an unmitigated delight. Ingolfsson led a lithe, lively performance, joined by violinists Gil Morgenstern, Stefan Milenkovich and Wen Qian, violists Daniel Panner and Vivek Kamath, and cellists Wendy Warner and Hai-Ye Ni. The Andante offered lots of lovely, soft playing; the Scherzo was deliciously poised and delicate; and, some tonal gruffness aside, the finale's vivacity was bracingly conveyed. Ingolfsson was a confident leader and not at all domineering (a common fault in this work), and all the musicians seemed to relish the music and each other's company."
The Vancouver Sun, April 26, 2004
"Ingolfsson brought an affecting sense of commitment to the piece [Barber Violin Concerto], wonderfully poetic and even improvisational in the first movement, darkly expressive and dramatic in the second. She commands both the technique to take the Moto perpetuo finale at breakneck speed and the tone to make it sound."
Omaha News Herald, April 17, 2004
"In the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto...Ingolfsson was able to effectively execute the acrobatics of the piece with ease and keen musical insight. Her playing was most enjoyable during the more intimate, melodic moments of the piece, when she lingered on phrase endings and harmonics to let us hear the lustrous sound of her 1736 Stradivarius, "Muntz"."
Indianapolis Star, February 4, 2004
"For concertgoers who had enjoyed individual performances by Ingolfsson or Milenkovich before, it might have been gratifying to hear the almost overwhelming synergy they produced in the Prokofiev sonata from the 1930s. The sonata began rather inconspicuously with an "Andante" movement mainly marked by symmetry of the players in imitative passages. The ensuing "Allegro" brought out Prokofiev's crackling percussiveness, and the violinists seemed to drive each other on, in a sort of perpetual cat-and-mouse game. Emotive playing from Ingolfsson distinguished the third movement, marked "Commodo." The finale brought out busy textures of almost orchestral proportions."
The Wichita Eagle, Sun, Oct. 12, 2003
"The best piece on Saturday night was the Violin Concerto by Samuel Barber, played by the superb young violinist Judith Ingolfsson. Ingolfsson ingratiated her sound superbly with the ensemble; she was at once a part of the orchestra, and above it. Her instrument, a priceless Stradivarius made in 1736, projected a meaty, gorgeous sound in all registers, and Ingolfsson negotiated the lyrical melodies and the more agitated measures with soulful assurance. In the "perpetual motion" third movement, Ingolfsson displayed the precise bravura technique that won her the top prizes at several prestigious competitions."
The Washington Post, January 13, 2003
"The best seats in the house for the Barns of Wolf Trap concert Friday were in the back rows. From there, the jeweled intensity of Judith Ingolfsson's Stradivarius, her finely honed bowing and stylistic finesse had their most telling effect. This was all the more impressive in that these aspects of her playing suited two works worlds apart: Bach's Solo Partita in B Minor, BWV 1002, and songs from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess", arranged by Jascha Heifetz. In the Bach, Ingolfsson's bow defined the minute yet determining stylistic subtleties that divulge the particular character of each dance in the suite. Then she transformed her violin into a voice easily calling on the "portamento" swoops that capture the precise qualities of Gershwin's dramatic intent."
New Haven Register, May 18, 2002
"Guest soloist Judith Ingolfsson is a violinist whose star has risen, the winner of the prestigious gold medal in the quadrennial International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 1998, and a native of Iceland. She tucked her 1683 Stradivarius under her chin and played the early upper-register strains of the neo-Romantic and arresting Violin Concerto in D major by Korngold. Ingolfsson used every millimeter of the bow and dispatched upper-register scale runs with searing intensity. Most impressive was her ability to make the instrument sing, communicating emotion with an ethereal magic. The balance between the orchestra, with its bell-like wind passages, and the soloist was dynamically perfect. The playful and frenetic third-movement allegro and vivace showed Ingolfsson at her finest."
San Juan - El Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico), February 19, 2002
"This authentic virtuoso gave a lesson in good taste, interpreting with warm sound and grand sonorous phrasing. The artist revealed not only her almost inhuman virtuosity, but also her magnificent musicality."
The Washington Post, February 3, 2002
"Judith Ingolfsson played Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto with just the right mixture of easy grace, sonic luster and patrician refinement."
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), September 22, 2001
"Judith Ingolfsson...captivated the audience with a romantic work by Wieniawski. Despite difficult passages, she played the piece deftly, producing a bittersweet effect by neither using too much force nor too much coloration. The audience's standing ovation rewarded her emotional performance."
The Baltimore Sun, October 4, 2001
"The performance was spectacular. It goes without saying that this violinist has mastered the mechanics of her craft, but what this budding superstar revealed went beyond technical command. She made this concerto absolutely and unmistakably her own...and approached it all with a panache of a true virtuoso. Nothing was held back...she was out to galvanize the orchestra and her listeners with the energy and power of Khachaturian's music."
The Los Angeles Times, October 20, 2000
"...an individuality one cannot ignore."
Strings Magazine, June/July, 2000 issue
"She is a truly outstanding player. Her effortless virtuosity is a tool in the service of the music; her tone is ravishingly beautiful, pure and adaptable, her sense of style is unerring, her expressiveness simple, direct, and strongly felt. Most striking, however, was Bach's C-major Solo Sonata: grand and noble in concept and execution, with every chordal and contrapuntal voice standing out, it was played with flawless sound and intonation, perfectly controlled pacing, phrasing and dynamics."
The New York Times, April 6, 2000
"On Saturday evening she gave a technically assured and interpretively astute recital at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Ingolfsson produced a tone that is firmly centered, gracefully rounded and tinted to match the score at hand...a sizzling account producing both fireworks and a singing tone...She moved easily between the work's ruminative and ecstatic passages and made her performance a journey to the soulful core."
NPR's Performance Today, May 17, 1999
THE DEBUT ARTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD recognizes a performer or ensemble for an outstanding radio debut: "Ms. Ingolfsson's personality and temperament are reminiscent of a pre-WWII violinist. She plays with a remarkable intelligence, musicality, and sense of insight."