The Cello Concerto is a

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

for

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by the American composer

Stephen Albert Stephen Joel Albert (6 February 1941 – 27 December 1992) was an American composer. He is best known for his Symphony No. 1 ''RiverRun'' (1983) and Cello Concerto (1990) written for Yo-Yo Ma, both of which won a Pulitzer Prize for Music. He d ...

. The work was commissioned by the

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...

for the cellist

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma (''Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

. It was given its world premiere by Yo-Yo Ma and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of

David Zinman David Zinman (born July 9, 1936, in Brooklyn, NY) is an American conductor and violinist. Education After violin studies at Oberlin Conservatory, Zinman studied theory and composition at the University of Minnesota, earning his M.A. in 1963. He ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, May 1990. It was one of Albert's last completed compositions before his death in December 1992. The piece was later awarded the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

History

According to David Grayson,Grayson, David: Jacket book to Yo-Yo Ma, ''The New York Album''; Baltimore SO, Cond. David Zinman; Sony Classical, 1994; PDF, 2018. "Albert composed the Cello Concerto between June 1989 and January 1990 and completed the orchestration by March. In the process, the work expanded considerably beyond its original project length". The work received its premiere on May the 31st, 1990, with Yo-Yo Ma as the soloist. (ibid)

Structure

The 1993 world premiere recording of Albert's ''Cello Concerto'', performed by Yo-Yo Ma (Baltimore SO, cond. David Zinman) for the Sony Classical's ''The New York Album'' (1994), lasts for about 32'11". Accordingly, the ''Concerto'' is composed in four movements, with the following tempo and character designations: I. Audacemente ma sostenuto, 6'38"
II. Con brio – instante (urgent), 5'43"
III. Larghetto, 9'50"
IV. Con moto; con imminenzo e inquieto, 10'00"

Appreciation

The cellist Yo-Yo Ma has stated about the work: " lbertputs he themesthrough all sorts of rhythmical and technical gyrations, and they emerge transformed, in a kind of catharsis. The Concerto, I believe, is an accurate mirror of what was going on in his life n particular, his struggles with creative blocks and his response to the death of his father, to whose memory the concerto is dedicated In that sense, it is like one of the old romantic concertos — an autobiography of the wounded hero. This music is in the strongest sense personal and soulful, and it takes us through the same emotional journey Stephen was going through when he composed it. I love playing it, and I believe it will have a good life. It is playable, practical, rewarding, and its says something personal."

Reception

Andrew Clements of ''

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toget ...

'' praised the Cello Concerto as a "real novelty", remarking, "It is a beautifully wrought, coherent work, with some striking moments of dark introspection and a tragic cast that is truly impressive." ''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'' called the work "a pretty riveting experience" and wrote:

References

Compositions by Stephen Albert 1990 compositions Albert, Stephen 20th-century classical music Music commissioned by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra {{concerto-stub