★★★★★Striking strings: Helen Grime’s concerto is performed with gripping intensity
CONCERTO CHOICE
A spellbinding premiere preserved Helen Grime’s work is brought vividly to life-

Helen Grime: Violin Concerto, Malin Broman (violin); Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Daniel Harding, OUR Recordings 9.70867 22 mins.

Striking strings: Helen Grime’s concerto is performed with gripping intensity
This recording comes from the premiere of Helen Grime’s Concerto in 2016, but it has taken a long time to appear in permanent form.
In the interim, after Malin Broman’s early performances, the work was taken up by Leila Josefowicz who has played it worldwide to general acclaim. It’s not hard to hear why; in its concentrated span, the piece keeps the musicians and audience on their toes, starting with three main elements, rising scales in the orchestra, a busier, jagged figure for the soloist, and a slow, gentle rocking phrase of two or three notes, coloured by notes on celeste.
These rotate in quick succession at first, creating a kaleidoscopic mosaic, then gradually expand with increasingly insistent rhythms, until a respite comes, as a more sustained lyrical line establishes itself, although not without initial interruptions, before settling into a magical, moonlit soundscape.
Following without a break, the second movement continues this mood, as the violin weaves curlicues of melody above a generally slow-moving orchestral bed, although there are bursts of localised activity.
Grime’s piece keeps musicians and audiences on their toes
The soloist is silent as the orchestra becomes heavier and more rhythmic, before the nocturnal mood is re-established, and even though there is an increase of tempo into the last movement, the music still remains light and airy much of the time, with only slow-moving notes in the bass anchoring it to the ground, as the solo line becomes agitated and virtuosic.
Apart from the music itself being utterly captivating, the intensity of the performance and clarity of the recording make this a winner". March issue 2026 notes Martin Cotton.