Bert Bailey asks for recent and impressive violin concerti.  I suggest
the following.

Bernard Stevens (not very recent, mid-40s, but very fine);
Penderecki (gloom and doom, but there are those who like to wallow);
Stephen Hartke (tonal/modern, with a nod to Shetland fiddling);
Nicholas Maw (tonal/modern, lyrical and upbeat);
Poul Ruders (an England-based Danish composer) TWO violin concerti,
  of which the first is modern gloss on the Italian baroque; and
Bent Soerensen "Sterbende Gaerten"---ghostly and fascinating.

None of these is "grand" in the old virtuoso tradition, but perhaps that
psychological posture no longer speaks to the modern sensibility.  My own
favorites, for what it is worth, are the Bernard Stevens (elegiac), the
first Ruders (distant but icily engaging), and the Soerensen (spooky).  The
two Danish works, in particular, are about as far from the "grand" style as
you can get, but accomplish something quite new with the contrast between
the orchestra and the violin's suppleness and range.

Jon Gallant  ([log in to unmask])