Johannes Moser Gives North American Premiere of Glanert’s Cello Concerto
Detlev Glanert’s Cello Concerto receives its North American premiere in March with cello soloist Johannes Moser, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Osmo Vänskä.
On March 27-28, Detlev Glanert’s Cello Concerto—written for acclaimed cellist Johannes Moser—makes its North American debut with Moser, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Osmo Vänskä. The new concerto received its world premiere with Moser, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, and Gustavo Gimeno on January 19; while the German premiere was given at the Philharmonie in Cologne by the same forces on January 21.
The 30-minute concerto, composed in 2022, was commissioned by Elizabeth und Justus Schlichting and co-commissioned by the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cologne Philharmonie (KölnMusik), and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
The concerto is divided into three movements: The opening movement centers around a confrontation between the soloist and the orchestra, followed by a waltz-like second movement, and an optimistic final movement. The composer notes that the concerto centers around “faith, love, and hope” from both positive and negative perspectives.
Glanert describes writing for the cello:
“Solo cello is always one of the hardest solo instruments to balance with orchestra, especially because of its central register being in the bass region, so I’ve tried to pare back the orchestra as much as possible when the soloist is playing on C and G strings. I’m using a middle-sized orchestra, with triple woodwind only, not too much brass, percussion, harp, celesta and strings. Dvorák’s Cello Concerto remains the masterpiece that acts as a model in terms of careful balancing.”
Other Glanert highlights this season include the world premiere of his latest opera The Jewish woman of Toledo with the Semperoper in Dresden (Feb 10); trumpet soloist Thomas Rolfs joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons for Glanert’s Trumpet Concerto (Apr 25-27); and the world premiere of his new Percussion Concerto with soloist Christoph Sietzen, the Arctic Philharmonic, and Christoph-Mathias Mueller in Bodø, Norway (May 24).
Concert Information
Wednesday, March 27 at 8pm EST
Thursday, March 28 at 8pm EST
Roy Thomson Hall | Toronto
More info
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor
Johannes Moser, cello
EDVARD GRIEG Suite from Peer Gynt
DETLEV GLANERT Cello Concerto (North American Premiere)
JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
> Further information on Work: Konzert für Violoncello und Orchester
Photo: Bettina Stöss
