EDIT: A great review of this disc in The Australian, 27 March 2010: “Hindson’s [The] Metallic Violins is the fun, flamboyant showpiece of the collection. It borrows the technique of “shredding” from heavy metal, in which guitars solos are played at breakneck speed. Stagy sliding and scratchy effects on both violins emulate an electric guitar in full flight. But what makes this piece work so well is the sumptuous finesse Cuddeford and Yoshimoto bring to it: they give it all the refinement of a Bach Partita.”
That bastion of the Australian recording industry, Tall Poppies, has recently released a disc entitled The Metallic Violins, which opens with my piece for two violins, The Metallic Violins.
This disc is amazingly good. The standard of performance by Natsuko Yoshimoto and James Cuddeford is off the charts. The recording quality is beautiful. The choice of works is exemplary, with a range of compositional styles very well represented. And every one of the works is outstanding in terms of its quality.
Here is a 3 minute excerpt from the opening of the work:
How lucky we are as composers to have performers and a recording company of this quality to represent our music. Thank you to founder of Tall Poppies, Belinda Webster.