Romanza for Cello and Small Orchestra, Op.49

Category		Orchestral > Other Orchestral Works
Composed		1990
Duration (approx)		12 minutes
Parts		Cello, small orchestra: 2.2.2.2 - 2.0.0.0 strings (min 6.5.4.3.2)
Recording(s)		A Birthday Concert for my Grandmother
Publisher		Faber Music
Commission		Mstislav Rostropovich for the 90th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
First performance		2 August 1990
Venue		Buckingham Palace
Orchestra / Ensemble		English Chamber Orchestra
Conductor		Raymond Leppard
Soloists / Players		Mstislav Rostropovich (cello)
Review		Robert Maycock, The Independent, 29 September 1990
		As the Prince says in his foreword, he wanted the new pieces here to have “recognisable melodies and themes”; and this piece comes from the lyrical rather that the searching side of Matthews. But it grows into more than the wistful little number that its opening suggests – a fullscale, neatly wrought sonata movement with plenty of lovely cello writing.