TheCello Concerto is a composition for solocello andorchestra by the American composerElliott Carter. The work was commissioned by theChicago Symphony Orchestra for the cellistYo-Yo Ma. It was first performed inChicago,Illinois, on September 27, 2001 by Yo-Yo Ma and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the conductorDaniel Barenboim.[1]
The Cello Concerto has a duration of roughly 18 minutes and is composed in sevenmovements played continuously:
Carter briefly described the composition in the score program notes, writing, "My Cello Concerto is introduced by the soloist alone, playing a frequently interrupted cantilena that presents ideas later to be expanded into movements. These movements are connected by episodes that often refer to the final 'Allegro fantastico'. In this score I have tried to find meaningful, personal ways of revealing the cello's vast array of wonderful possibilities."[1]
The work is scored for solo cello and an orchestra comprising threeflutes (third doublingpiccolo), twooboes,cor anglais, twoclarinets (second doublingbass clarinet), bass clarinet (doublingcontrabass clarinet), twobassoons,contrabassoon, fourhorns, threetrumpets, threetrombones,tuba,timpani, three percussionists,harp, andstrings.[1]
The concerto has been praised by music critics. Steve Smith ofThe New York Times called it an "eruptive work" and praised its "mercurial shifts and puckish gestures."[2] Andy Gill ofThe Independent said the work "offers [the soloist] a showcase in how to deal with the orchestra's sudden astringent tone-clusters and exclamatory percussion without ceding command: the progress from the Tranquillo to the Allegro fantastico is, well, fantastico."[3] Peter Dickinson ofGramophone wrote:
The Carter [Cello] Concerto comes from his productive final phase. The idiom is not as abrasive as his middle-period works but he still challenges the soloist. [...] Carter said he aimed at 'meaningful, personal ways of revealing the cello's vast array of wonderful possibilities'. The soloist is mostly lyrical but the orchestra at times knocks the stuffing out of any sentimentality. The seven sections are continuous and the third one, marked giocoso, adds a touch of humour with some percussion.[4]
The Cello Concerto has been recorded three times for commercial release. The first recording, performed by the cellistFred Sherry and theBBC Symphony Orchestra, was released throughBridge Records on November 15, 2005.[5] The second recording, a live recording with the cellistJan Vogler and theSymphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks was released byNeos on 15 July 2010,[6] and the most recent, performed by the cellistAlisa Weilerstein and theStaatskapelle Berlin, was released throughDecca Records on October 30, 2012.[7][8]
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