The self-taught English composer
Steve Elcock
, who came to music comparatively late in life and was unknown for years, has been enjoying more frequent performances of his music. This critically acclaimed 2024 release, featuring two of his 2020s compositions, provides good examples of his orchestral style. His music at first sounds a good deal more tonal than it actually is; the works here mix modes, and there is a modern quality of tension in both. He has been compared with
William Walton
and
Sibelius
, and he has pointed to the Swedish composer
Allan Pettersson
as a major influence.
Elcock
's palette is varied. Hear the opening of the second movement of the
Violin Concerto
, with string textures inspired by the distinctively English art of change ringing (read
Dorothy L. Sayers
' The Nine Tailors for more info). The
Symphony No. 8
, based on a string quartet
wrote in 1981, is a remarkably complex single-movement construction, all derived from a few short motifs stated at the beginning. The work was premiered at the 2022 Three Choirs Festival. The playing here, by the
English Symphony Orchestra
under
Kenneth Woods
and solo violinist
Zoë Beyers
, is confident and sharp; one could hardly ask for a more expert ensemble than this one, which specializes in English music of the 20th century. The recording, too, from the Wyastone Concert Hall, is excellent. Give
a try; a wide variety of listeners will find his music valuable. ~ James Manheim