Ruth Palmer is a British violinist.
In 2004 she gave the world première of Irony of Fate, a ballet for one female dancer with solo violinist on-stage created by Rafael Bonachela, Ballet Rambert’s Associate Choreographer for the Madrid International Day of Dance 2004, using the solo violin partita of Vytautas Barkauskas.
She debuted at Wigmore Hall In London, and she has given recitals at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Royal Opera House, Edinburgh Festival, Cheltenham International Festival of Music, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room, Teatro Albeniz Madrid, Munich Opera House Gala and Snape Maltings.
In 2006, her début CD "Shostakovich Violin Concerto No 1 & Violin Sonata" was released, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Ben Wallfisch, and recorded on the "Turkish" Guarneri Del Gesu (1737) loaned to her by Charles Beare. The BBC had commissioned a documentary about her preparation for this called A People's Music and a DVD version of this is included with the CD.
This was rated 5-stars by the Independent on Sunday, and 4-stars by The Times and The Guardian. The review in International Record Review described her performance of the Concerto as "a performance which has astounded me...it a truly magnificent account" and on the Sonata commented "although two recordings exist of David Oistrakh playing this work (with Sviatoslav Richter and with Shostakovich himself – the last recorded in the composer’s apartment), Palmer’s recording is the finest all-round I have experienced – indeed, her intellectual understanding of this extremely difficult work is wholly exceptional, and her musical acuity is admirable".