Alina Ibragimova seemed a diminutive figure in black when she opened her Bach violin recital on Saturday night at the Sheldonian with Sonata for violin solo no. 1 in G minor. There were no attempts to make this an overly showy or dramatic performance – she stood alone with her violin on the floor of the Sheldonian with minimal introduction, no dimming of lights, no spotlight and most significantly no sheet music, as she plays this most challenging of music from memory and from the heart.

However, as soon she began to play the music of the opening adagio and fugue the hall and hearts of the audience were filled with the elegant tonality of this piece. The fugue may be more familiar to some as it was later reworked as part of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Minor for organ and indeed this redolent familiarity was evident throughout the evening's recital. The Fugue introduces and develops the intense use of three and four note chords which is characteristic of this piece. In the cascading Presto which closed this sonata the Russian-born violinist made the most of her elegant, precise fret and bow work to bring out the contrasting fire and frailty of the music.

In her second piece, Partita for Violin no. 1, Alina Ibragimova was able to use her consummate technique to explore the melodic motif which wends its way through the piece. With great musical flourishes she explored the variation or 'double' inherent in the Partita, stretching the music towards a toccata form and in spite of the exacting technical demands of the composition delivered an eloquent and lively interpretation.

The final piece of Saturday night's recital was Bach's Sonata no. 2 in A minor which contained melodic shades of the Brandenburg Concerto which was composed during the same period. Contrasting with the more lively dance and folk themes found elsewhere in these violin solos this piece opened with a complex, slow-tempoed 'Grave' and in the intricacies of the rhythms and melodies Alina Ibragimova's playing was able to fully explore the melodic minor potential more fully in the exacting Fuga which follows. Ultimately the piece ends with a lively, light-hearted Allegro, rich with rhythmic and melodic variations bringing together many of the elements which made tonight's concert such a success: Alina Ibragimova's passion and precision; Bach's lyrical and melodic genius and a sensitive and appreciative audience.

Alina Ibragimova has a well-deserved reputation for her knowledge, fervour and commitment to playing Bach's sonatas and partitas. Her diminutive physical presence belies great skill and passion when playing these 'Everests' of violin solos from memory and her lack of physical stature and presence is more than compensated for by the consummate ability and compassion evident in this recital.