Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
''This piece was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation with a dedication to Mstislav Rostropovich. It was heard for the first time in London, October 14, 1970, and the outstanding soloist was accompanied by the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Downes. It is a one-movement piece, within which there are four ''acts''. The first act serves as an introduction, in the second there are four episodes, in which the different sides try to 'come to an understanding', the third act serves as a lyrical cantilena, and the last brings a symphonic finale (''the triumph of the individual''). Speaking about the concerto, the composer recalled, ''When I accepted the commission, Sława said to me Dont think of the cello. The cello - that's me. Write music. Naturally, I thought a lot about the cello. I even made a diagram of the four strings on the neck, because I wanted to know how the fingering would look, if some things are easy or difficult, whether they are playable. Finally, I sent part of the score and Sława said: 'Thirty years of playing the cello and now I have to learn new fingerings!' There are quarter-tone passages and for them Rostropovich wrote the fingering himself. He invented a great method: he marked all the notes that belong to the twelve-tone tempered scale with large numbers and the quarter tones smaller numbers. It's a great idea. Later I altered two pages, but Sława didnt find time for it to write the fingering for them. (I. Nikolska, Muzyka to nie tylko dźwięki. Rozmowy z Witoldem Lutosławskim)
- Language of edition: eng, pol
- Number of pages: 70+24
- Cover: softcover
- Type: score
- Size: A4 vertical (210x297 mm)
