The ''Suite'' (formerly and alternatively entitled ''Divertimento'') is a composition for solo

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 ...

by Polish composer

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

. The piece is well known for its typical chromatic melodies and for its recurrent use of pizzicati and

col legno In music for bowed string instruments, , or more precisely (, ), is an instruction to strike the string with the stick of the bow across the strings. History The earliest known use of in Western music is to be found in a piece entitled "Har ...

Background

Initially entitled ''Divertimento'', ''Suite'' was written over the course of twenty years and had many additions and revisions. Penderecki initially wrote this suite for solo cello as part of a musical collaboration with fellow cellist

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

which started with the Cello Concerto No. 2 and which went on for more than twenty years. It consisted of only three movements: ''Serenade'', ''Scherzo'', and ''Notturno'', all of them composed in 1994 and premiered on December 28, 1994, in

Köln Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 million ...

Boris Pergamenschikow Boris Mironowitsch Pergamenschikow, , (29 August 1948 in Leningrad – 30 April 2004 in Berlin), was a Russian-born cellist. His father was also a cellist, and gave his son his first lessons. In 1974, Boris Pergamenschikow won a gold medal at t ...

. The ''Suite'' was initially dedicated to Pergamenschikow and commissioned by KölnMusik. The composition was later revisited many times over the years until its completion in 2013. ''Sarabande'' followed in June 15, 2001, performed by the dedicatee in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

. After that, ''Tempo di Valse'' was premiered at the

Kronberg Academy The Kronberg Academy is an academy of chamber music based in Kronberg, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1993 by Raimund Trenkler, who has served since then as its chairman and artistic director. The academy's initial focus was on the cello and s ...

Kronberg Kronberg im Taunus is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis district, Hesse, Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Before 1866, it was in the Duchy of Nassau; in that year the whole Duchy was absorbed into Prussia. Kronberg lies at th ...

, on October 21, 2004, in a memorial concert for Pergamenschikow performed by Claudio Bohórquez. The ''Aria'' was the next movement to be composed, which was premiered by

Michel Strauss Michel Strauss (born 1951, in Paris) is a French cellist. Strauss was educated by Paul Tortelier and Maurice Gendron at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he won first prizes in cello and in chamber music, before continuing his studies at Yale Univ ...

on September 2, 2006, at the Musée d'art américain in

Giverny Giverny () is a commune in the northern French department of Eure.Commune de Giverny (27285)< ...

, at the Festival de Musique de Chamber à Giverny 2006. The ''Allegro con bravura'' was premiered by

Arto Noras Arto Noras (born 12 May 1942, in Turku) is a Finnish cellist who is one of Finland's most celebrated instrumentalists and amongst the most outstanding internationally acknowledged cellists of his generation. At the age of 8, Arto Noras started h ...

on February 20, 2010, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and, finally, the ''Preludio'' was premiered between April 16 and 27, 2013, in

, at the fifth International Paulo Cello Competition. It was published several times by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind musical instruments. Formed in 1930 throu ...

and

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were fou ...

to include the different expansions to the suite. However, the final version was dedicated to

and published by

in 2014.

Composition

This composition takes approximately 20 minutes to perform. The movement list is as follows: Penderecki himself arranged some of the movements of this composition for

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

for separate performance, among them ''Sarabande'', which he rearranged in 2000.

Notable recordings

Since the composition was completed in 1994 but subsequently expanded, recordings initially omitted several movements when they were released. Here is a list of notable partial recordings of this composition:

Footnotes

References

{{Krzysztof Penderecki Compositions by Krzysztof Penderecki 2013 compositions Compositions for cello Suites (music)