Kalevi Aho's (b. 1949) Concerto for two violoncellos and orchestra was a commission of the BBC for the Manchester Cello Festival 2004. The wish of the festival was that piece is not long, and this had an decisive influence on the nature of the concerto. Firstly the musical language of the concerto and the using of the solo instruments had to be very compact and concentrated. The cello is used in the concerto mostly as a singing melody instrument, which has also its great virtuosic possibilities. Secondly the piece could not be rhytmically too complex, so that the orhcestra, which has to play in the opening concert a long and difficult programme, could learn the premiere work in a short time.

The Double Cello Concerto was written during the summer of 2003. The piece comprises one long movement, in which there are some different (but not too many) contrasting musical characters. The tempo is mostly very fast and the solo writing virtuosic. The piece is very virtuosic for the orchestra, too. There are also two cantabile, slow sections and a cadenza, where both soloists play with glowing intensity. Both solo parts are all the time contrapunctally intertwined and equally difficult.

This product is the solo part (containing both solo cellos).

Duration: 20'
Orchestral material is available for hire from the publisher.

Instrumentation:
3(I=picc)3(III=ca)3(III=bcl)3(III=cfg)-3221-02-hp-str
Percussion: I: Timpani, Tamburino, Tamtam
II: Cassa rullante, Gran cassa, Tamburino, Piatti a2, Tamtam, Campane tubolare, 3 Temple blocks, Frusta, Catene, Sistrum, Shell wind chimes