Violin Concerto

Raymond Yiu’s violin concerto is inspired by the life of the great Chinese violinist and composer Ma Sicong (1912-87). Echoes of the folksong-based second movement, Nostalgia, from Ma’s Inner Mongolia Suite (1937) thread through the concerto, itself a meditation on the sorrows of exile and a homage to a life broken by political persecution. Opening with a haze of ghostly premonitions, it breaks into a light-footed scherzo whose ‘trio’ pays homage to shidaiqu, a Shanghai genre from the 1920s and forebear of Chinese pop. The third movement is an extended cadenza based on a solo erhu recording, and the work ends in a quiet synthesis of its themes.


“A work of blinding brilliance, the concerto carries its multiple influences explicitly: Chinese opera, Chinese folk tunes, jazz and Latin. It’s inspired by the great Chinese violinist Ma Sicong, in whom Yiu explores the sorrows of exile." (Jefferson Hayden, The Prickle)

“Seven years in the making, Raymond Yiu’s Violin Concerto is a big piece in every sense. Themes of exile, loss and nostalgia place it in a lineage stretching back to Korngold and Bartók. For Yiu, born in Hong Kong, long resident in London, those themes take on new life and relevance through the turmoil of 20th-century Chinese history, and the life of the Chinese violinist Ma Sicong." (Peter Quantrill, The Strad)

“The opening was magical, with the soloist trilling and the orchestra gradually weaving a texture around it ... The moving third movement for the soloist alone saw Yoo producing a splendid variety of colours and mood. The long finale built steadily to an animated climax that dissolved into a return to the opening trills. (Chris Garlick, Bachtrack)