“An American wartime Violin Concerto, composed by the most lyrical of wartime composers, Barber’s work poses special challenges to any performer: balancing the nostalgic, romantic element, with a searing and burning emotional content, over two movements as elegiac as the third is maniacal. Miclen’s solution was the violin itself: every section focussed on the vocal qualities of the instrument, from the simple opening song in G Major to the deeply moving second movement. Miclen truly exploited the “crying” register” of the D String, and instinctively makes the vibrato tighter in that register, to give the notes an intensely human quality. When the slow movement builds to that enormous eruption, the effect was emotionally spot-on and you could feel the goosebumps as the orchestra responded in kind. He also brought something new to the “scotch-snap” material that the violin plays only once, right at the end of the first movement: there was a playfulness, a naughty glint in the eye, and a kick in the step, that I had never heard before and suspect I shall from now on always miss, when hearing others.

The frenetic last movement saw the violinist articulate with refinement throughout, never pushing to brashness or scratching – a real risk in this technical steeplechase of a work. Balance was, by all accounts, never an issue through-out the performance. Easy virtuosity and deeply felt musicianship was felt again in the encore, a version of Danny Boy that will forever be remembered by anyone who heard it. The perfect encore to an astonishingly moving Barber.”