Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in Eb major, Op. 107
I. Allegretto
II. Moderato
III. Cadenza
IV. Allegro con moto

Written in 1959, this concerto is written for and dedicated to the great Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. It appeared just two years after the second piano concerto, with which it shares some points of style and orchestration - quite bare but barbed, and with prominent parts for the woodwind. But the mood is very different: this concerto is serious, single minded and intense. There is a prominent part for a solo French Horn.

The principal theme of the first movement is stated at once by the cello, and it dominates the whole concerto. There are several other themes in this movement as well, most quite short and easily recognised. Two are played together, towards the end of the movement, in an extended duet for the cello and solo horn. The movement ends with a flourish.

The slow second movement starts gently, almost romantically, though the chromatic harmony gives a searching, not comforting feel to the tune. It works up to an expressive climax, which subsides into a passage of high cello harmonics, very barely accompanied by strings and celeste. This leads directly into the cadenza, in which the cello ruminates sadly on themes from the slow movement. This gradually becomes more animated, even passionate, and leads directly into the finale. This movement, full of real energy, displays the soloist's agility and virtuosity throughout. Do not be surprised to hear the theme from the first movement make its reappearance towards the end!