Concertino

Description

Paul Sudlow:

Commissioned by The King’s High School for Girls in Warwick, this work was written to provide a showcase for a talented grade 8 sixth-form cellist in her final performance at school before leaving for music college. The first movement explores the cello’s upper register in a lyrical cantilena. The second movement, which makes more use of the lower register, takes the form of a short accompanied cadenza. This leads without a break into the finale, where baroque fugal textures and rich harmonies are coloured throughout by exciting passage-work from the soloist. The orchestral parts are pitched quite modestly to reflect the abilities of a good amateur or school string group; the violin parts, for instance, never stray beyond third position. The solo writing, however, requires technical skill and mature expressive confidence in equal measure. Solo part: post grade 8.

Also available for Cello and Piano or Cello and Strings.

RP050