David Matthews’ Adonis is a three-movement piece for violin and piano inspired by Classical mythology and Welsh folk song. Written for violinist Sara Trickey and pianist Gretel Dowdeswell in 2007, the 12-minute work describes Adonis’ love affair with Venus. An opening seduction is followed by the raucous hunt, in which Adonis is killed by a boar, before his final transfiguration into a Mediterranean flower in the last movement.
“…sensuousness gives way, first to violence, then the calm contemplation of natural renewal.” The Guardian (Tim Ashley), 12 July 2021