Cristina Anghelescu; Anthony Ross; Philharmonia Orchestra; Albany Symphony Orchestra; David Parry; David Alan Miller - George Lloyd: The Violin & Cello Concertos

It is significant that, when Lloyd turned his attention to writing concertante works for the violin, he avoided using full orchestral forces. His sensitivity to issues of balance and scrupulousness in scoring in his operas was matched by his determination that the solo instrument in his concertos should not be overwhelmed by thick orchestral textures. George Lloyd started to learn the violin at the age of five, but despite his facility in playing the violin and the importance he attached to his lessons with Sammons, Lloyd was relatively slow to compose works for his own instrument. It was not until 1970 that Lloyd wrote Violin Concerto No.1, his first piece with a leading role for his own instrument, but this achievement seemed to stir his enthusiasm and during the next seven years he completed a number of short pieces for violin and piano, a fully-fledged sonata and a second concerto.