In conversation with conductor Michael Waldron, violinists Jack Liebeck and Alexander Sitkovetsky chat about Malcolm Arnold’s Concerto for Two Violins and String Orchestra. The work features on a new album recorded with the London Choral Sinfonia, out on Orchid Classics 28 February.
The work was unknown to Liebeck, who was searching for a double violin concerto to record with long-time collaborator Waldron. Sitkovetsky was brought into the project, and luckily he had encountered the piece when he was a teenager studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School, where it was performed often by students.
The duo chat about the work, with Sitkovetsky saying ‘it shows the power and beauty of the violin, for both voices,’ while Liebeck compares the final movement to a game of tennis between the two soloists. They share their thoughts on approachability, and how the length and instrumentation of the work lends itself well to programming purposes.
The pair also speak about how they’ve known each other for 25 years, and why they have Guy Johnston’s victory at the 2000 BBC Young Musician of the Year to thank for their amicable partnership.
Along with the double violin concerto, the new album also features Arnold’s choral pieces, plus his Concerto for Organ and Orchestra with James Orford.
Watch: Violinist Jack Liebeck on Vaughan Williams’s rarely performed Concerto Accademico
Read: Sentimental Work: Alexander Sitkovetsky on Bach’s ‘Double’ Violin Concerto
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