My performance of the Ligeti Violin Concerto, in 2018 with Christian Baldini and the UC Davis Orchestra, went notably well and I was very happy it was live-streamed and that the video has stayed available on Youtube. It was my first time playing the piece. Recently it was an unanticipated thrill when this performance was also released on Centaur Records (on which label I’ve released five albums previously). Having it on an album provides further avenues for people to listen to it, and also has drawn substantial attention as a recording that it had not received as a Youtube video – I’m very grateful for these reviews:

David McDade, MusicWeb International:

“the scintillating Miranda Cuckson in the Ligeti. Ligeti’s violin concerto burst into my consciousness thanks to a Boulez-directed disc of the Ligeti concertos on DG with the work’s dedicatee, Saschko Gawriloff, as soloist. I always assumed that recording pretty much closed the book on how to perform this gleefully crazy piece, but that was until I heard this performance. This is a piece that teems with ideas, wonderful, weird and wacky (ocarinas anyone?) and Miranda Cuckson’s enthusiasm is utterly infectious. She makes complete sense of the many disparate elements in an absolute tour de force reading. The energy levels of soloist and orchestra match those of the indefatigable Ligeti at his most unbuttoned. If you have yet to make the acquaintance of this masterpiece, then this is now the performance to go for.

The work isn’t all capers and extravagance. The Passacaglia is full of pathos and great solemnity, reminding us that some of the most profound lines in King Lear come from the mouth of the Fool.

This is the first recording of hers I have listened to, though she has amassed a considerable discography which I shall now be checking out. It is a real pleasure to hear a musician of such charisma taking on contemporary music instead of yet another Sibelius or Tchaikovsky concerto.”

Jari Kallio, Adventures in Music:

“The performance, caught on disc on 5 May 2018, is perhaps the crown jewel of the album. The soloist, the orchestra and the conductor are all on the top of their game, delivering an admirable iteration for Ligeti’s astonishing concerto. In the opening movement, Cuckson’s solo line weaves through the increasingly complex orchestral fabric with dexterous virtuosity, while Baldini keeps his formidable ensemble ever well-balanced and beautifully in accord with the soloist.

The second movement is a well-shaped affair. Its wonderfully realized solo opening paves the way to the marvellously surreal entry of the ocarina quartet, followed by the aptly jagged hockets. The harmonic clouds of the closing chorale bring the movement to its captivating close.

The central Intermezzo lives up to its presto fluido marking, with its seamless flow unraveling with absolute virtuosity. A well-shaped Passacaglia fourth movement ensues, paving the way for the agitated, appasionato finale and its whirling cadenza, in a tour-de-force rendition from Cuckson. With the scattered closing notes from the ensemble and the soloist, the concerto is brought to its witty close with style.”

Lynn René Bailey, Art Music Lounge:

“The Ligeti Violin Concerto, despite its strangeness, is clearly a first-class work, and I was very impressed by our soloist, Miranda Cuckson, who plays it with not only technical fireworks but also with tremendous feeling. Here everything falls into place in a first-rate performance that does full justice to the music. Listen particularly to the way she plays the slow second movement, with so much heart that you’d think she was in love. Unfortunately, the horns crack a couple of times which mars its effectiveness. Cuckson also plays the “Intermezzo” movement with tremendous passion. She is one outstanding violinist!”

Thomas May, Gramophone:

Christian Carey, Sequenza 21:

Győrgy Ligeti’s Violin Concerto, completed in 1993, was one of his most significant late works. In it, he explored his interests in microtonal tunings, folk dance rhythms, older forms such as Medieval hockets and Renaissance passacaglias, and unorthodox instrumentation (the winds double ocarinas) and playing techniques. The language moves between tonal (often modal) reference points and post-tonal construction. This may sound like quite an amalgam to navigate, but it is achieved with abundant success. Violinist Miranda Cuckson is a superlative interpreter of contemporary concert music, and she delivers a memorable rendition of concerto, with tremendous sensitivity to tuning and balance, authoritative command of challenging solos, and a dramatic portrayal of its narrative arc. Once again, Baldini proves an excellent partner, eliciting a tightly detailed performance from the UC Davis Symphony while giving Cuckson interpretive space as well. The performance of the cadenza displayed some of the violinist’s creativity. Cuckson started with four lines of the original version, composed with input from the concerto’s dedicatee Saschko Gawriloff, then continued with cadenza material she wrote herself.