Magnus Lindberg: Viola Concerto; Absence; Serenades in Bloomington, MN

The prospects for this new
viola concerto
by
Magnus Lindberg
(dated 2023-2024) would seem good; violists don't have an abundance of solo orchestral pieces, and there are still fewer that offer a meaty, expressive solo part like the one here.
Lindberg
's concerto is a substantial work, clocking in at over 30 minutes. It has a relatively restricted Mozartian orchestra of strings and winds, but as usual,
's gift for orchestral coloration makes the most of these, with Impressionist shadings at times. At the center of the concerto is the large second movement, which falls into five subsections (there is a "Quasi una cadenza" and, after that, an actual cadenza) without ever seeming merely episodic. Nor does the constantly shifting relationship between the soloist and the orchestra seem in the least random. Sample the viola's murky tones in the opening of the second movement (marked IIa), displayed in full color here and throughout by soloist
Lawrence Power
. Harmonically, the work features the pentatonic sonorities and overtone series of other recent
works, including the two 2020s orchestral pieces (
Absence
and
Serenades
) that round out the program. To combine this harmonic world with a real solo tour de force is quite an accomplishment. Any violist, or anyone who likes the viola, or anyone planning at any time to book a violist must hear this release. ~ James Manheim