Concerto for Piano and String Orchestra

Kalevi Aho's Piano Concerto No. 2 is scored for a string orchestra comprising just twenty players. The first performance took place at the concluding concert of the 2003 Mänttä Music Festival, in Vilppula Church on 29th June. The soloist was Antti Siirala and the strings of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra were conducted by Osmo Vänskä. The demanding piano writing is primarily a consequence of Siirala's remarkable command of the ‘Beethovenian-Lisztian-Brahmsian' pianistic tradition. At times the piano part is lean and linear, but the work also contains multi-layered, full-toned piano textures and massive rolling octaves. The concerto requires great artistry on the part of the performer. The Second Piano Concerto lasts roughly half an hour and comprises three untitled movements played without a break. The first movement and the finale are extremely fast; these outer movements contain plenty of playful music. The slow second movement is more serious in tone, and its piano texture is very ample. The difficult cadenza at the end of the finale brings more serious emotions to the coda as well.