If at first glance the pairing of Sawyers with Elgar seems strange, it is worth considering the similar musical environment in which all three works were written. Both composers were compelled to write in their own very individual style, which proved unfashionable within musical circles for some of their career. Indeed, much of Sawyers’s output was initially dismissed for failing to embrace the more esoteric, experimental and avantgarde techniques embraced by many of his contemporaries. Sawyers has always been compelled to write music that he "could hear", with every note serving an expressive purpose.

Similarly, by 1918 Elgar had become dejected with the modernist trends already gaining momentum in Europe and would write very little for the final 20 years of his life. For Sawyers, a busy professional life as a violinist in the Royal Opera House Orchestra left a 20 year hiatus in his output. This disc marks the first commercial release of his chamber music.

Described by the Sunday Telegraph as having both “warm musicality” and “virtuosity”, the Steinberg Duo has performed in Canada, Spain, Germany and throughout the UK. Formed in 2007, the duo are passionate about presenting the wonderful violin and piano repertoire as an equal partnership. Since 2009 they have curated a recital series in the beautifully intimate setting of the 1901 Arts Club on London’s Southbank and, for the past two years, the duo have spent each January in residence at The Banff Centre in Canada, generously supported by the Musicians’ Benevolent Fund, the Richard Carne Trust and the Banff Centre.

Committed to supporting high quality contemporary music, the duo enjoy a particularly close association with composer Philip Sawyers, from whom they commissioned a second violin sonata in 2011.

Steinberg Duo:
- Louisa Stonehill (violin)
- Nicholas Burns (piano)