Herald AV Publications

HAVPCD264 – Stephen Watson: Cello Concerto

Completed in 1999, the Cello Concerto was first performed in a BASF concert on 21 June 2000 in the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, by the same artists who have made this premier recording. The Concerto embodies a traditional as well as a personal approach to concerto form: traditional, in the sense of virtuoso writing for the solo instrument, yet personal since there is no contest between the soloist and the orchestra – both elements are often integrated and each is of equal prominence. In the middle Adagio, however, the solo cello is the prime mover, and this is reflected in the scoring and atmosphere of the movement.