On 31 July Cassandra Miller’s viola concerto I cannot love without trembling made an acclaimed Proms debut with Lawrence Power, John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic. Described by Alex Ross as “music of bruising immediacy” (New Yorker), the work finds twin creative wellsprings in the writing of Simone Weil and recordings of Greek émigré violinist Alexis Zoumbas. The 25-minute piece was co-commissioned by BBC Radio 3, Brussels Philharmonic, Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra, supported by The Viola Commissioning Circle.
…unfolded with sublime assurance and a transcendental gentleness…made such a beguiling impact on the ear and so direct an appeal to the emotions that it almost rendered intellectual analysis unnecessary…The soloist proceeds by microtone slithers, melodramatic vibratos that quiver into full-blown trills, and raw octaves that evoke some ancestral Balkan folk lament…Meanwhile, the orchestra refines that drone in a thousand different ways, sometimes making it sound like the far-off swell of the ocean, at other times shooting dazzling flecks of woodwind through the texture…a work that deserves many performances.
The Times (Richard Morrison) 1 August 2024 ****
…a reticent but powerful lament…written for the dazzling Lawrence Power, no virtuosic puppet but, as Miller demands, a soulful poet of sound.
The Observer (Fiona Maddocks) 8 August 2024 ****
The viola’s keening lines…do the lamenting, with fragile, shimmering figures over slowly pulsing orchestra chords; the textures are subdued until a sudden rocketing piccolo solo signals the start of the viola’s cadenza, which seems to push the laments to the point of breakdown…a strangely beautiful piece…
The Guardian (Andrew Clements) 1 August 2024 ***
…dreamy waves of sound that ebbed and flowed, trembling delicately—a fitting reflection of both the character and title of the work. As the music progressed, it grew more solemn…The piece featured beautiful instrumental blending, a strikingly intense moment of low, quiet rumbling from the bass drum, and violins plucked like Russian balalaikas…it was a quiet spectacle, simple and enchanting.
Bachtrack (Marat Ingeldeev) 2 August 2024 ****
…an extraordinary and beautiful work, composed with an immediacy that gathers into a gauze of ritual loss and mourning – and that is before you adjust to big philosophical possibilities proposed with minimalist means but without any apocalyptic grandeur…The overall sense is one of quiet, slow, prayerful refinement. Miller’s use of the orchestra reveals a painterly ear of exceptional finesse…At the end, Power froze his final bow-in-the-air flourish, holding it until the orchestra made its way to its own mysterious conclusion – an oddly moving sight.
Classical Source (Peter Reed) 1 August 2024
In April 2025 Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber premiere their choreography for the work with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, as part of the double bill Dusk till Dawn (3-27 April 2025) alongside Crystal Pite’s Frontier, which receives eight performances. Smith and Schraiber’s new work sets out to depict the relentless force that makes people fight to keep hope alive despite their own fragility. It will be performed live by the Göteborg Opera Orchestra, conducted by Nathan Brock, with the viola solo performed by Emil Jonasson and Franziska Wenzel over the course of the run.