Sibelius Violin Concerto, Ross Edwards Violin Concerto : A.Anthony(Vn)Volmer / Adelaide Symphony Orchestra

Ross Edwards : Maninyas - Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Sibelius: Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47

Adele Anthony, violin
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra / Arvo Volmer, conductor

Recorded: 06/2009

At the age of 13, Adele was the youngest winner of the Australian Broadcasting Corporations Instrumental and Vocal Competition performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and here offers a recording of a work she has lived with for over 20 years. She returns to her home city of Adelaide, Australia to make this recording with acclaimed Sibelian conductor Arvo Volmer. Volmer’s recording of Sibelius’ Symphonies No.2 and No.7 for ABC Classics has received wide acclaim IRR noting that Volmer is ‘very sensitive to the drama and atmosphere’, and that his ‘interpretation of Sibelius come in 3 sizes ? large, larger and largest…’. Classic FM awarded this same recording ‘Orchestral Disc of the Month’ in January 2008. Adele brings a soulful femininity to her interpretation of the Sibelius concerto, maintaining a bold richness and accuracy of tone. A critic in the Chronicle Herald observed of Adele’s recent May 2011 performance of the Sibelius concerto with the Nova Scotia Symphony that her rhythm was ‘as sharp as a skyscraper’, with ‘her consistently full, even, warm tone impeccably tuned and maintained across every register, every range and every dynamic level.’.

Of particular interest here is Ross Edward’s Violin Concerto, Maninyas. The original inspiration for Maninyas came from a Houston Ballet commission created by Stanton Welch. This recording is currently the only available commercial recording, and is one of the great modern day violin concertos. This work enjoyed its’ European premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2010 under the baton of Vladimir Askenazy with the soloist Dene Olding. It had its US premiere in 2008 with soloist Ani Kavafi an conducted by William Boughton. Ross Edward’s profi le is on the ascent. His oboe concerto Bird Spirit Dreaming has been performed by the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and is currently enjoying many of his works programmed in the 2011 City of London Festival.

Adele Anthony’s triumph at Denmark’s Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in 1996 launched an acclaimed and expanding international career.