‘A work of complete confidence and newness.’ The Times
Instrumentation
2(=picc).afl(=picc).1.ca.2.bcl.cbcl.2 - 4231 - timp - perc(2/3): 9 tom-t/2 conga/3 BD/5 susp.cym/2 siz.cym/ch.cym/cyms/4 tam-t/6 tuned gong/3 bell plates/t.bells/bell tree/crot/mar/xyl/2 glsp/boobams/steel drums - pno(=cel) - harp - strings (min 10.10.8.8.6)
Availability
Facsimile score 0-571-50836-7 on sale, parts for hire
Programme Notes
I have long wanted to write a concert for cello – it is so much my favourite solo instrument – that several years ago I started planning a Double Concerto for two cellos. But in the end I settled for one. I have attempted to make the soloist’s role a less dominant one that is customary in a concerto. That is not to say that it is any less important: but soloist and orchestra are conceived as equal partners in advancing the musical argument, so that the cello sometimes assumes the part of commentator rather than protagonist.
Colin Matthews
Reviews
The Times (Paul Griffiths), 11 September 1984
‘The work itself surely confirms the emergence of an imposing talent – both in the richness and sophistication of orchestral detail and in its individual overall shape.’
The Sunday Telegraph (Bayan Northcott), 16 September 1984