Discovering Coleridge-Taylor
When Elena Urioste steps onto the Brighton Dome stage this week to perform Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Violin Concerto in G minor with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra, it will mark both a debut and a reunion.
“The first time I played it was when Chi-chi Nwanoku asked me to come on tour with Chineke! in November 2019,” Urioste explains. “We did a six-city European tour, and I just loved the piece so much.”
That tour became the start of a long relationship with the work. “When the tour was done, we both wanted to record it and put plans into action right away. And of course, the pandemic happened, so we had to delay. We finally recorded it in April 2021, when I was about halfway through my pregnancy — which ended up being incredibly special.”
Playing while expecting her first child led Urioste to a new interpretation. “Pregnancy made me feel so good on the violin — comfortable and loose and powerful — and that was very much appreciated in a recording setting.”
The concerto has since become, “a big part of my performing life these past six years; I feel very close to it.” Urioste has performed the work at the BBC Proms and with major US orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Her upcoming appearance with the BPO will be the concerto’s first performance at Brighton Dome.
Dazzling virtuosity
As a pianist, MacGregor knows Coleridge-Taylor’s piano writing intimately, describing his late-Romantic style as chromatic, colourful, and beautifully orchestrated. She asks Elena to describe his writing for violin. “He was a violinist, and that’s abundantly clear,” Urioste explains. “His virtuosity is dazzling, but it fits well in the hands. He knows how the instrument works.”
The Violin Concerto in G minor was one of the composer’s final major works before his death at 37. The British premiere took place at the Proms on 8 October 1912, with soloist Arthur Catterall and conductor Sir Henry Wood. Although it made a great impression, the concerto has not been widely performed.
“It’s clever to write a violin concerto in G minor that ultimately turns major,” Urioste says. “The instrument rings as one always hopes it might. And he just writes a really good tune. The second movement is one of the most beautiful — incredibly wistful, personal, and intimate, punctuated by moments that feel quintessentially British. It’s almost a nod to Elgar, with hints of Pomp and Circumstance.”
MacGregor asks if there’s a concerto it might be compared to. “I’m not fond of comparing lesser-known music to famous works,” Urioste says. “But if it helps provide context, I’d maybe put it in the same category as the Bruch G minor — not just because they share a key, but because it’s a compact showstopper. It sweeps you into a whirlwind while suggesting, ‘sit down and let me tell you a story’.”
The affection for Coleridge-Taylor’s scores is compounded by a sense of local connection. “He lived in Croydon,” Urioste notes. “He’s my neighbour! I have to go through Croydon to get to Brighton from where I live in south-east London.”
Yoga and musicianship
MacGregor comments on how natural and comfortable Urioste looks on stage. But there is struggle behind her poise, and Urioste is candid about the physical challenges of her profession. “I’m not ashamed to admit it,” she says. “I find playing the violin really uncomfortable. The physicality of it has always been a struggle for me — or, if I reframe it, it’s always been a process.”
The secret to her apparent ease lies, perhaps unexpectedly, on the yoga mat. Urioste’s devotion to yoga began completely by accident in 2009. “I was trying to find a productive way of dealing with heartbreak and stumbled into a hot-yoga class. It completely changed my life.”
She smiles at the memory. “I’d never been particularly athletic — I was very much an indoor kid with the violin — and it made me feel strong in a way I’d never experienced. I loved the intensity and concentration it required, the fierce determination but also the malleability. It was a different kind of discipline that completely complemented my music practice.”
MacGregor notes the physical strength and conditioning required of musicians and asks how yoga has changed Urioste’s relationship with her instrument. “Within a couple of classes I started noticing differences in my playing,” she explains. “I was more aware of how I was distributing my weight, or whether I was engaging muscles unnecessarily. In yoga you focus on the muscles that need to work and relax everything else. I think of that as an ‘economy of energy,’ which I apply constantly to violin playing.”
The results have been dramatic. “The pathways were much clearer from my brain to my fingers. I actually had to practise much less. I was getting more efficient at giving commands and having my hands obey them.”
Over time, yoga became more than personal practice: it became a mission. In 2017, Urioste and her friend, violinist Melissa White, co-founded Intermission, an organisation offering yoga and wellness programmes tailored for musicians. “We run workshops at conservatories and universities, and retreats for professionals,” she says. “We also put a lot online that anyone can access. It’s the other half of my life.”
She laughs when asked whether her family notices the benefits. “I joke with my husband, everyone around me should want me to do yoga — because otherwise I will be a monster.”
Bringing Coleridge-Taylor to Brighton Dome
Urioste’s reflections return repeatedly to presence and being at ease in the moment. “Finding something you can do mindfully is essential for every musician,” she says. “For me, yoga and music are just different ways of practising the same thing — listening carefully, being still, and letting the music speak through you.”
Urioste has become one of Coleridge-Taylor’s most eloquent champions, and there’s a genuine excitement at bringing his music to audiences who may be experiencing his violin concerto for the first time. “It’s sort of a perfect violin concerto,” she says simply. “Between the lush romanticism, the beautiful melodies, and the virtuosity — it’s an ideal piece. I can’t wait to share it.”
Elena Urioste is performing at Brighton Dome Concert Hall with the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday 19th October 2025 at 2:45pm; conductor Alice Farnham. From £13 / £10 Under 30’s / £1 child; book tickets at brightondome.org. For more information, visit brightonphil.org.uk.
