Violin Concerto — Anagram
A three-movement violin concerto whose title reflects the idea that the same components can acquire a different meaning when rearranged.
About the work
The concerto is deliberately accessible but slightly unconventional in form. A more heavily orchestrated first movement gives way to a lyrical section and ends with a lonely violin obbligato over sustained strings. The second movement begins with a lively 6/8 section before the expected adagio arrives, leading eventually to a virtuosic and positive finale.
Some of my pieces have names made from anagrams. I like the idea that the same letters, arranged differently, can create another meaning — rather as the components of events in life can produce an outcome or understanding quite different from the one originally intended. This concerto is therefore simply called Anagram.
It is dedicated to EJD, to Lady Hallé — Wilma Neruda — and to the Honourable Mary Portman, herself a violinist and a patron of the arts who helped Lady Hallé in a time of need.