Rinat Ibragimov
Brilliant Russian-born principal double bass player with the LSO
RINAT IBRAGIMOV, who has died aged 59, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, his masterly performances and musical enthusiasm helping to raise the profile of the instrument; he championed the music of Giovanni Bottesini, bringing the 19th-century composer and double bass virtuoso’s works to a modern audience.
Ibragimov was known for his silky tone, something he attributed to having started on the cello. He not only resurrected long-forgotten pieces, but also championed new ones including a triple concerto for double bass, harp and violin by Dmitri Smirnov. It was given a rousing premiere by the LSO in 2004 in a scoring proposed by Ibragimov, with his part covering a vast range of notes and even imitating the harp in one pizzicato passage.
One of the older instruments he played had only three strings rather than four; it had belonged to a priest and a Crucifix was carved on the rear. For a party piece he played the baryton, a rare relation of the double bass or bass viol that has two sets of strings, one in front and one behind the neck where they vibrate in sympathy or are plucked by the left thumb while the melody is bowed on the front strings.
Ibragimov was a musician with a warm heart and a great sense of humour, as his colleagues in the LSO could testify. In 1998 he starred at the Edinburgh International Double Bass Festival, where one critic described his comedic double bill with the Finnish bass player Jorma Katrama as “a classic Morecambe and Wise act in the making”.
Rinat Ibragimov was born in Moscow on November 5 1960 and began playing the cello at the age of six. After 10 years he realised that “my teacher was bad, my technique was poor, and the competition was too much”. He switched to the double bass, adding, “and then I had a great teacher”.
He studied at the Moscow Conservatoire with Evgeny Kolosov, and took classes in conducting with Dmitri Kitaenko; later he would conduct students in the chamber orchestra of the Kazakh Conservatoire. In 1984 he won a student double bass competition and in 1989 took first prize at the Giovanni Bottesini double bass competition in Italy. By then he was a member of several Russian ensembles including the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and the Moscow Soloists.
In 1995 Ibragimov was appointed principal double bass of the LSO under the baton of Sir Colin Davis, a move he described as a pleasant form of culture shock. He was also a member of the Razumovsky Ensemble, a group of Russian artists living and working in London in the early years of the 21st century. Their repertoire included a Sonata for two violins, cello and double bass written by Rossini at the age of only 12 in which the bass has a rare opportunity to sing.
Ibragimov remained a champion of the double bass, making a series of videos for the LSO in which he discussed specialist aspects of the instrument including Viennese tuning, a method that was popular with players 200 years ago. He also posted online an informal recording of Bottesini’s Gran Duo for double bass and violin made with his daughter, the violinist Alina Ibragimova.
Six years ago Ibragimov suffered a stroke that left him unable to play, although he continued to work at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He is survived by his wife, Lutsia, who teaches violin at the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music, and by his children, Timur and Alina.
Rinat Ibragimov, born November 5 1960, died September 2 2020