Double concerto

A double concerto (Italian: Doppio concerto; German: Doppelkonzert) refers to two distinct variations on the concerto. Most often, it refers to a concerto featuring two performers, as opposed to the usual single performer, in the solo role. These two performers' instruments may be of the same type, as in Bach's, Concerto for Two Violins, or different, as in Brahms's Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra.

The term may also be used to refer to the use of a double orchestral body where the work is in concerto grosso form; for example, Martinů's Double Concerto for Two String Orchestras, Piano, and Timpani is commonly known by the title "Double Concerto," where the word "double" refers to the two string bodies rather than to the piano and timpani who are not soloists in the conventional sense.

Triple concerto, etc.

Concerti with more than two solo parts may be known by the terms "triple concerto" (Italian: Concerto triplo, German: Tripelkonzert), "quadruple concerto," etc., but not usually when the instruments of the same type (e.g., Vivaldi's Concerto for Four Violins in B minor, catalogued as RV 580 and transcribed for four harpsichords by Bach as BWV 1065).

Lou Harrison

Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo (formerly called K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat, informally called Pak Cokro).

Harrison is particularly noted for incorporating elements of the music of non-Western cultures into his work, with a number of pieces written for Javanese style gamelan instruments, including ensembles constructed and tuned by Harrison and his partner William Colvig. The majority of his works are written in just intonation rather than the more widespread equal temperament. Harrison is one of the most prominent composers to have worked with microtones.

Biography

Harrison was born in Portland, Oregon, but moved with his family to a number of locations around the San Francisco Bay Area as a child. He graduated from Burlingame High School in Burlingame, California in 1934, then he moved to San Francisco. The diverse music which he was to be exposed to there, including Cantonese opera, Native American music, Mexican music, and jazz as well as classical music, was to have a major influence on him. He also heard recordings of Indonesian music early in life.

Double Concerto (Delius)

The Double Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra by Frederick Delius is a double concerto for violin, cello, and orchestra in C minor, composed between April and June 1915 while Delius lived in Watford, England. The work is dedicated to the sister duo of violinist May Harrison and cellist Beatrice Harrison, who premiered the piece under conductor Henry Wood February 21, 1920 in Queen's Hall, London.

Background

Delius was inspired to compose the Double Concerto after attending a December 1914 performance of The Hallé under conductor Thomas Beecham in Manchester. The concert featured Johannes Brahms's Double Concerto in A minor performed by sisters May and Beatrice Harrison, to whom Delius was introduced after the concert by music critic Samuel Langford. Though his opinion of Brahms's Double Concerto was never recorded, Delius agreed to write a concerto for the Harrison sisters and began work on the composition by April 1915, frequently consulting the sisters during its creation.