Fanfare 4
*****

Scottish composer Helen Grime (b.1981) created her Violin Concerto (2015–16) for Swedish violinist Malin Broman. Grime had previously collaborated with Broman in both chamber and orchestral music: “I was immediately struck by the ferocity, power, and passion in her playing. At times, she is able to play with a sort of wild abandon but also with great tenderness, sensitivity and with many different colors.” In her Violin Concerto, Grime sought “to highlight and showcase these striking, opposing qualities.”
The world premiere EP release of the Grime Violin Concerto from OUR Recordings is taken from a December 15, 2016 performance at the Berwaldhallen in Stockholm, with Broman as soloist,
and Daniel Harding conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
As Grime explains in her brief program notes accompanying the recording, she initially shared with Broman numerous sketches for the work. The sketches first manifested themselves in the concerto’s central section, from which the outer episodes grew. The concerto is cast in a single movement, comprising three episodes (fast–slow–fast). The work is unified by a motif, reminiscent of Shostakovich’s D-S-C-H musical signature, that appears throughout the concerto in various guises. Grime observes: “Violent, virtuosic music covering the whole range of the violin is con with more delicate and reflective filigree material that features oscillating natural harmonic passages and searching melodies.” Grime achieves this expression with brilliant writing not only for the soloist but for the orchestra as well, exploring a stunning range of moods, colors, and textures. Throughout the concerto, I was struck by the soloist’s role as a protagonist in an intense drama. In that sense, the Grime Violin Concerto is a worthy descendant of those by Alban Berg and Dmitri Shostakovich (No. 1 in A Minor). In the Berg, the lamented Manon Gropius takes center stage. And in the Shostakovich First, as its dedicatee David Oistrakh described: “The Concerto poses exceedingly interesting problems for the performer, who plays, as it were, a pithy ‘Shakespearean’ role, which demands from him complete emotional and intellectual involvement, and gives him ample opportunities not only to demonstrate his virtuosity but above all to reveal his deepest feelings, thoughts and moods.” Much the same may be said of the Grime concerto, where the intensity of utterance never flags. Malin Broman offers a virtuoso performance, surmounting the considerable technical challenges to deliver an interpretation
of unflagging concentration and searing emotional depth. The Swedish RSO, under Harding’s direction, plays with distinction. The in-performance recording is excellent. An impressive achievement by all concerned. Recommended. Ken Meltzer