...her palette is all her own, weaving evocative, restless motives with cool insistence. She writes as though her music needs to be told...
- Kate Molleson, The Guardian

The music of Helen Grime has been performed by leading orchestras around the world, among them the London Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. The last decade has been a fruitful period for Grime during which she’s composed a number of meticulously-crafted, deeply-felt orchestral works. We highlight eight of them here.

 

Violin Concerto (2016) 22 min

A violent and virtuosic violin part is contrasted with searching melodies in Grime’s Violin Concerto, premiered by Malin Broman and the Swedish Radio Symphony. It has also been played extensively by violinist Leila Josefowicz.

 

 

Woven Space (2017) 22 min

Woven Space takes its title from a work by Laura Ellen Bacon, a British sculptor who creates elaborate structures with fresh willow twigs. It was commissioned for Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra.

 

Hear Simon Rattle and Grime discuss Woven Space here.

 

Percussion Concerto (2018) 23 min

A continuous piece with a lively first movement, a brooding second section and a rapid final movement. It was inspired in part by the angels in the work of artist Paul Klee. Colin Currie premiered the piece with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Marin Alsop.

 

Meditations on Joy (2019) 15 min

Grime describes the piece as “an exploration of joy in its may different forms, from a personal perspective.” It was premiered with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth at the BBC Proms in 2023, forming the first part of a concert with Beethoven’s ninth symphony.

 

Limina (2019) 12 min

Limina was inspired by a scene in Norwegian author Tarjei Vesaas’ novel “The Ice Palace” and explores the ideas of thresholds and shifting states. It was jointly commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center.

 

Trumpet Concerto (night-sky-blue) (2022) 22 min

The subtitle “night-sky-blue” is taken from a poem by Fiona Benson and the piece takes as its subject night and nocturnal gardens. Acclaimed Swedish trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger has performed it around the world.

 

River (2023) 20 min

Premiered by the Hamburg Philharmonic and Kent Nagano at the Elbphilharmonie, the piece includes several musical ciphers combining the letter of Elbe with the initials of the orchestra and conductor.

 

Folk (2024) 25 min

The Libretto for this 4-movement song cycle was written by Zoe Gilbert, based on her novel ‘Folk,’ and creates a dark, fantastical world which is entirely her own. It was written for soprano Claire Booth who gave the premiere with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in September 2024.

 

Discover more about Grime's career and work in her episode of Composing Myself, where she is in conversation with Wise Music Group's CEO Dave Holley and Creative Director Gill Graham.