Tout un monde lointain...
Tout un monde lointain... (A whole distant world...) is a concertante work for cello and orchestra composed by Henri Dutilleux between 1967 and 1970 for Mstislav Rostropovich. It is considered one of the most important 20th-century additions to the cello repertoire[1][2][3] and several major cellists have recorded it.[4] Despite the fact that the score does not state that it is a cello concerto, Tout un monde lointain... has always been considered as such.[1]
Tout un monde lointain...
Each of the five movements was inspired by the poetry of Charles Baudelaire,[1] and the overall feel of the work is mysterious and oneiric. A typical performance runs approximately 27 minutes.[5]
Composition[edit]
The work was initially commissioned by Igor Markevitch for the Concerts Lamoureux and Mstislav Rostropovich around 1960. Occupied with other projects, Dutilleux only completed the concerto in 1970. Since Markevitch had left the Concerts Lamoureux in 1961, Rostropovich was accompanied for the premiere by the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Serge Baudo, at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence (25 July 1970). The cello part was edited by the Russian cellist and published with his fingerings.
Instrumentation[edit]
In addition to the solo cello part, the concerto is scored for two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, three horns, two trumpets, two trombones, tuba, celesta, harp, timpani, percussion (bongos, tom-toms, snare drum, bass drum, crotales, triangle, suspended cymbals, cymbals, gongs, tam-tams, xylophone, marimba, and glockenspiel), and strings.