Maternal
Violin Concerto
(2025) 
for solo violin and chamber orchestra*

*2 fl (1. dbl picc., 2. a.fl) · 2 ob (2. dbl c.ang) · 2 hn · strings (6.5.4.4.2)

Commissioned by Manchester Camerata. Performed by Tamsin Waley-Cohen & Manchester Camerata.

Performances
4th September 2025, The Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester
5th September 2025, The Hepworth, Wakefield. 
18th September 2025, King’s Place, London.

Nick Martin's Violin Concerto: Maternal is inspired by the work of British sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth and composed while living in St Ives, Cornwall. The piece engages with Hepworth's exploration of landscape, line, and form, as well as her recurring depictions of mother and child.

A particular influence was Hepworth's Landscape Sculpture, a torso-sized work strung with nine fishing lines; the number nine resonated symbolically, evoking pregnancy and maternal themes. The sculpture's intimate scale suggests objects of comfort, music, or passage — a cradle, a lyre, or a boat — and its taut strings inspired the concerto's attention to fragility, resonance, and line.