“ONE is not often wowed by a new work, but Philip Sawyers’ Violin concerto—premiered here by Alexander Sitkovetsky and the English Symphony Orchestra under Kenneth Woods—really did the trick….

“…Sawyers knows how everything functions…there is so much nuanced and colourful material to savour…[he] develops his ideas organically on long skeins of melody, which in the brooding first movement blossom in a seethingly passionate cadenza.

“His Andante, too, is gorgeously melodic with a deftly scored landscape of shifting instrumental perspectives…. and the ‘hustle and bustle’ finale is delightfully frothy in an English serenade sort of way, with joyous vignettes and exhilarating challenges for the soloist.

“Sitkovetsky despatched everything with tremendous aplomb, and the support of Woods and his ESO players sounded terrific even in this hard acoustic. I can’t wait for the CD

–David Hart

Coming on CD from Nimbus Records later this year! Check out our current CD of Saweyers’ orchestral music including his Third Symphony and Songs of Loss and Regret, a 2017 Gramophone Critics’ Choice.