‘… I wondered whether Matthews’s concerto might contain hidden significances. Its tone is strangely evocative. The first of the two movements begin dreamily — the tempo marking is Sognando — with iridescent chatter in the background and a high-lying solo line that shimmers like Szymanowski, whose First Violin Concerto Matthews cites as an inspiration… Josefowicz was the most exemplary of soloists. She had memorised the extremely taxing part and projected it with a passion. Not a bar of hers was not imprinted with her personality and thought.’
The Sunday Times (Paul Driver), 11 October 2009
‘… Beautifully written and tailored for the particular singing gifts of the soloist Leila Josefowicz, it pits a high violin tessitura against a spectacularly bespoke orchestra… The luminosity of Matthews’ violin writing recalls the concertos of Prokofiev and Szymanowski, the orchestral textures and colours recall Mahler and Berg – all composers from the early 20th-century period so beloved of this composer, and who can blame him.’
Birmingham Post (Terry Grimley), 2 October 2009
‘… a strikingly original work, which never does quite what you expect of a violin concerto. The writing for solo violin is fluent and idiomatic, but all of a piece with the musical argument. There’s no flashy display, nor a hint of a cadenza for the soloist – this, Matthews was quoted in the programme as saying, would have got in the way of the musical argument. Yet the violin’s lines soar eloquently over complex orchestral textures that become increasingly threatening as the work goes on… It’s a disquieting work, and concertos are rarely that.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 1 October 2009
The Sunday Times (Paul Driver), 11 October 2009
‘… Beautifully written and tailored for the particular singing gifts of the soloist Leila Josefowicz, it pits a high violin tessitura against a spectacularly bespoke orchestra… The luminosity of Matthews’ violin writing recalls the concertos of Prokofiev and Szymanowski, the orchestral textures and colours recall Mahler and Berg – all composers from the early 20th-century period so beloved of this composer, and who can blame him.’
Birmingham Post (Terry Grimley), 2 October 2009
‘… a strikingly original work, which never does quite what you expect of a violin concerto. The writing for solo violin is fluent and idiomatic, but all of a piece with the musical argument. There’s no flashy display, nor a hint of a cadenza for the soloist – this, Matthews was quoted in the programme as saying, would have got in the way of the musical argument. Yet the violin’s lines soar eloquently over complex orchestral textures that become increasingly threatening as the work goes on… It’s a disquieting work, and concertos are rarely that.’
The Guardian (Andrew Clements), 1 October 2009