1989 I was commissioned to write a large-scalework to be premiered at the Exeter Festival. When thefestival’s director, Richard Gregson-Williams, told methat cartoonist Ralph Steadman (an idol of mine) andguitarist John Williams (a good friend I’d alreadyworked with many times) would both be involved inthe festival, it seemed like a good idea to get them onboard for the project. What developed from this was an “eco-oratorio”called Plague and the Moonflower, which caused someexcitement. A year or two later, John asked me if theguitar solos from P&M could be extracted and joinedup to make a concert piece for guitar and orchestra. Iwas delighted to be asked, of course, and as we werediscussing this over a curry in St John’s Wood, we setabout weighing up the options. In the end I said Iwould honestly prefer to create a new work fromscratch. This was partly because John was looking fora substantial concert piece that would constitutealmost half a programme. But I was also thinking ”I’llonly ever get one stab at writing a full length piece fora guitarist like John Williams, so why not start with ablank canvas?” I had originally called the workConcerto in Modo Antico, and it was John whosuggested losing the “in modo” so it would trip off thetongue better. Completed in late 1994, Concerto Anticowas recorded a few months later with John and theLondon Symphony Orchestra under the able baton ofPaul Daniel. It has been performed many times since(usually with John taking the solo part) and hasgradually gained fans and momentum, becoming afixture in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame for the last fiveyear
- ISMN: 9790708167051 (M708167051)
