Béla Bartók composed his 44 Violin Duos in 1931, at the urging of the German violin pedagogue Erich Doflein. With two exceptions, all the pieces are based on original folk music themes, most of which the composer himself collected in the course of his numerous collecting trips to the Carpathian Basin and in Algeria. Although conceived as parts of a pedagogically motivated set, these little pieces …

to the violin concerto by Gyorgy Ligeti. Par ADES THOMAS. In a conversation with the violinist Peter Herresthal, we touched on the “invitation” in the score of Ligeti’s Violin concerto to provide a cadenza for the work. Peter suggested that I answer this invitation and I was happy to accept. I followed all the composer’s directions exactly: the cadenza may use material from all five movements, and…

Written by Gabriel Yared, composer to the scores for The English Patient, Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr Ripley, this folio of 22 original Cello pieces has been designed to inspire and encourage duettists, especially teacher/pupil collaborations.The idea grew out of composer Gabriel Yared's own learning experience which suggested a need for one part to be written for the experienced teacher and…

Par AHO KALEVI. Kalevi Aho's (b. 1949) concerto no. 2 for cello and orchestra (2013) is in five movements performed without a break. It begins with a swinging Berceuse, followed by a very quick, virtuosic Presto in 5/8 time. The heart of the concerto is the cadenza-like third movement, Adagio, dominated throughout by the soloist. A fairly short Allegretto is followed by the closing Epilogue. This …

Par ADES THOMAS. Thomas Adès’s second work for string quartet, The Four Quarters was written for the Emerson Quartet and was premiered by them at Carnegie Hall in 2011. The winner of the 2012 British Composer Award for Chamber Composition, the 20-minute work charts the progress of a day. Glassy harmonics typify the opening movement Nightfalls, whilst playful pizzicati abound in Serenade – Morning …