Imogen Holst Violin Concerto to Premiere in London

Violinist Midori Komachi has brought this forgotten 1935 work to publication and will present its first public performance on November 24, 2024

Violinist Midori Komachi will give the public premiere of a forgotten violin concerto by the British composer Imogen Holst, having first encountered the piece by seeing its manuscript in the archives of Britten Pears Arts in Aldeburgh. Titled Concerto for Violin and Strings, the 1935 work has now been published by Faber Music.

Born in 1907, Imogen Holst was a close associate of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears: she spent twenty years as the joint artistic director of the couple's famous Aldeburgh Festival. She then stepped down to pursue her own compositional career, but was afforded little critical recognition and many of her works have remained unpublished.

Holst also wrote a biography of her father, Gustav Holst, and played a crucial role in preserving his legacy.

While she was writing the concerto, Imogen Holst was particularly preoccupied with Irish folk music. She was studying George Petrie's nineteenth-century "Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland", and incorporated many folk tunes from this resource into her own work.

Once written, the concerto received a first play-through with sponsorship from the RCM Patron's Fund. Holst herself conducted that rehearsal, which featured Elsie Avril as soloist and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Nearly a century later, Komachi will give the premiere public performance with the Elgar Sinfonia of London and conductor Adrian Brown, in a concert at St. Andrew's Holborn church in London on Sunday, November 24, 2024. The other works on the program are Elgar's "King Arthur" Suite, Finzi's Eclogue for Piano and Strings, and Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance" Marches. You can find out more about the performance here.

A violinist and composer, Midori Komachi has completed several major projects bridging Japanese and British musical culture, with a particular focus on the works of Vaughan Williams and Delius.

"Encountering the manuscript of this Violin Concerto at the Archive, Britten Pears Arts has been one of the most thrilling moments in my career," Komachi said. "Each note, meticulously handwritten by the composer, seems to radiate her energy, musicality, and personality."

"The piece features numerous quotations of Irish folk melodies and carries a subtle influence from Vaughan Williams's ‘Concerto Accademico’, making it highly approachable and appealing for any music enthusiast."

"I believe this Concerto has the potential to become a staple in the repertoire and a valuable educational tool for young musicians, as its techniques are not overly demanding but still offer plenty of engaging twists. This music deserves to be heard, much like the works of composers she collaborated with, such as Britten and Gustav Holst."