B6968EC5-51D9-4129-8463-84F11A5A0AE1
| ID | B6968EC5-51D9-4129-8463-84F11A5A0AE1 |
|---|---|
| Titlecode | R00330 |
| Title Name | Cello Concerto |
| Marketing Copy | Composed for Carter Brey. |
| Instrumentation | Cello Solo: 2.2.2.2: 2.2.0.0: Timpani: Strings |
| Commission | (not set) |
| Dedication | (not set) |
| Program Notes | My Cello Concerto (1994) was written for Carter Brey, whose playing I first heard and admired when he performed with the National Chamber Orchestra in 1993. In the spring of 1996, the premiere of this piece was conducted by Piotr Gajewski, with Brey as soloist. The work is in three movements and is frequently pentatonic, something quite new for me. The first movement is in modified sonata form, with the opening ideas recapitulated in reverse order, so that the overall shape is like an arch. The very fast second movement is framed by the introduction and a two-part coda. The theme of the finale, a passacaglia, begins with the same notes as the opening theme of the first movement, but in a different rhythm. Midway through the movement there is what I can describe only as a rather curious (and extremely difficult) cadenza, much more chromatic than the rest of the work, which finally resolves into the opening motif of the passacaglia theme. --Steven Gerber |
| Title Brand | 2 |
| Year Composed | 1994 |
| Copyright Number | (not set) |
| Copyright Year | (not set) |
| Duration | 21 |
| Ensemble Size | 13 |
| Date Created | 2008-10-31 20:33:08.000000 |
| Date Updated | 2025-09-30 20:33:08 |
| Inhouse Note | (not set) |
| Bsc Code | (not set) |
| Text Author | (not set) |
| Premier Performance Memo | -World Premiere. Carter Brey, cello. National Chamber Orchestra/ Piotr Gajewski. 31 May 96, 01 Jun 96. |
| Recording Credits | Recorded by Carter Brey, National Chamber Orchestra, Piotr Gajewski, conductor, Koch International LLC, CD KIC 7501. |
| Review | "It is risky to predict the future of any new piece of music at a time when the audience is believed to be shrinking even for established classics. But Gerber's Concerto seems to have what it takes to establish a foothold.... The music is composed with a fine sense of instrumental color, not only in the solo cello but also in the orchestration, which is vivid without losing the transparency essential in music for a chamber orchestra.... Gerber has given his soloist some fine, expressive melodies...the audience applauded him warmly and at length." --Joseph McLellan, The Washington Post<BR> <BR> "Cello Concerto opens equally atmospherically and the soloist ruminates evocatively. The scoring is economical and very telling. Again the first movement uses modified sonata form (one of the themes on the bassoons brings a whiff of Sibelius) and the concerto, in the composer's words,'is frequently pentatonic'. The brief central movement is an inventive Scherzo but alternating with a solemn chorale-like idea, and the finale, a Passacaglia , is based on the material of the opening movement. There is a central cadenza but, as with all fine passacaglias, the music finds a satisfying resolution--recreating the mood of the opening, but ending very positively. These are splendid works and both soloists are fully worth of them, and completely inside this consistently memorable music." <BR>-- Robert Layton |
| Awards | (not set) |
| Title Category | 7 |
| Title Movements | (not set) |
| Title Grade | (not set) |
| Set Series ID | (not set) |
| Title Instrument Category Text | Full Orchestra |
| Title Sub Category Text | (not set) |
| Title Sub Category | 93 |
| Title Instrument Header | 41 |
| Title Grade Text | (not set) |
| Clean Url | cello-concerto-r00330 |