Paul Patterson; Kenneth Leighton; Gordon Jacob: British Violin Concertos [Clare Howick; BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; Grant Llewellyn] [Naxos: 8573791]

These three major British concertos span fully 70 years. Kenneth Leightons Concerto is a work of tensile urgency, scored with great imagination, and ending in an arch-like Epilogue of impassioned intensity. Written for soloist and string orchestra, the Concerto by Gordon Jacob contains at its heart a threnodic slow movement cast in long, moving paragraphs and accompanied by poetic effects. Written for (and premiered by) the soloist in this recording, Paul Pattersons Violin Concerto No. 2 (Serenade) is rich in high spirits; songlike, wistful and exuberantly sparkling. Clare Howick is a specialist in twentieth-century British music and her recital of British violin music Elgar, Bridge, Delius, Cyril Scott was released in September 2017 (8.573790). These three major British concertos span fully 70 years. Kenneth Leightons Concerto is a work of tensile urgency, scored with great imagination, and ending in an arch-like Epilogue of impassioned intensity. Written for soloist and string orchestra, the Concerto by Gordon Jacob contains at its heart a threnodic slow movement cast in long, moving paragraphs and accompanied by poetic effects. Written for (and premiered by) the soloist in this recording, Paul Pattersons Violin Concerto No. 2 (Serenade) is rich in high spirits; songlike, wistful and exuberantly sparkling. Clare Howick is a specialist in twentieth-century British music and her recital of British violin music Elgar, Bridge, Delius, Cyril Scott was released in September 2017 (8.573790).
It’s good to hear these pieces in such agile, colourful and committed performances. –Gramophone, March’18The BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra accompanies with freshness and precision. –BBC Music Magazine, April’18