COMPOSITIONS / ORCHESTRAL / CONCERTO NO. 5 “THE FOREST IN APRIL” (2021)

ORCHESTRAL

Concerto No. 5 “The Forest in April” (2021)

For cello and orchestra

  • 31 min
  • Donemus Publishing
  • March, 2021

In THE FOREST IN APRIL (2021), the relationship between soloist and orchestra is central as a metaphor for the relationship between man and nature. You can hear how the cellist influences the orchestra and how the orchestra slowly mutates into a monstrosity that collapses under its own weight. The work ends with a Requiem, in which the orchestra blows itself up, as it were. Lonely the lamento of the cello floats over the destruction of the orchestra. A deeply emotional moment.

First performance

CelloMaya Fridman
ConductorNicolò Foron
EnsembleNorth Netherlands Symphony Orchestra

General information

Instrumentation 2.2.2.2.sax | 4.2.3.1 | timp. perc. hp. cel. | 10.8.6.4.3
Commissioned by Maya Fridman
Noord Nederlands Orkest
(with financial support from Fonds Podiumkunsten)
Dedicated to Maya Fridman
 

“After a minutes long solo cadenza, where Maya could explore all her qualities as ‘Performing Beast’, a dramatic battle enfolds. Edgy orchestral motives are being alternated with sawing dissonances from the cello. Even here the composer mixes his timbres so ably that even in the discordal passages, beauty can be found. A gloomy, almost Mahleresque fading panorama gently closes the piece.” 

FRITS VAN DER WAA
De Volkskrant

“If Rimpelingen is impressive, The Forest in April is masterly. If this disc gains traction I would expect cellists to be queuing up to play it. De Graaff’s individuality, precision and style light up every bar of both works, but his skills seem especially apt for a large orchestra. In any case, regardless of whether or not either of these terrific works takes off, it’s difficult to imagine they could be performed with deeper engagement by soloist and orchestra alike, or recorded with greater clarity.” 

RICHARD HANLON
Musicweb (CD Review)
Read the full article (EN)

It is not easy music and yet it has become an accessible whole. This is due to the wealth of ideas of the composer, the craftsmanship of the performers and the recording that has captured all this flawlessly. So it’s here to stay.”

HANNA BLOM-YOO
De Nieuwe Koers (CD Review)
Read the full article (NL)

“De Graaff is an all-rounder and a real and bright comet in the musical firmament that no one can pass unnoticed.” 

MAARTEN BRANDT
Opus Klassiek (CD Review)
Read the full article (NL)

“His music develops organically and in its aggressive passages exudes elemental power; yet while there are moments where the music convulses with tectonic force, there are others characterized by stillness.”

Textura (CD Review)
Read the full article (EN)

“De Graaff is a magician with orchestral colours albeit in a contemporary language, but one that often sounds harmonically familiar.”

PAUL HERRUER
Dagblad van het Noorden (CD Review)
Read the full article (NL)

“The concerto Rimpelingen, enlivened with restless short phrases, and the concerto The Forest in April, opening with a long solo cadenza, erupt into a battle of the elements cello and orchestra. Angular motifs in the orchestra alternate with dissonances in the cello. Yet the composer always manages to maintain a kind of charm in the sound.“

UWE KRUSCH
Pizzicato (CD Review)
Read the full article (DE)

“Ominous dissonant harmonies and thundering percussion seem to announce the apocalypse. The glowing interpretation by Fridman is matched by the just as emphatic performance by the NNO.” 

THEA DERKS
Klassiek van nu (CD Review)
Read the full article (NL)

“De Graaff’s biggest strength hides in a paradox: thrilling idleness. Hear how majestic his Aprillian Forest awakens, with bows to Mahler (‘Wie ein Naturlaut”) and Messiaen (“Twittering birds”). When Maya even starts to sing she honors her reputation as Cello Priestess.”

GUIDO VAN OORSCHOT
De Volkskrant (CD Review)
Read the full article (NL)

“His music is essentially atonal, but because it is not systematized to death and De Graaff still dares to be romantic in the contours and flow of his melodies, the listener is carried away with a gentle but compelling hand in the abstract story he wishes to tell. A great asset here is his orchestration skill. The music is colorful, always remaining clear and surprising.”

ERIK VOERMANS
Het Parool (CD Review)
Read the full article (NL)

“The composer and the performing artist are of one mind about this musical content. This is evident from what they say about working with each other and what we hear so clearly in the compelling delivery by Maya Fridman.”

PAUL RUSHTON
Positive Feedback (CD Review)
Read the full article (EN)

CD now available!

The Forest in April (2021) & Rimpelingen (2017)

You can now get your own copy of The Forest in April on CD, where it’s performed by Maya Fridman and the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nicolò Foron.

Performed by:

  • Maya Fridman (cello)
  • North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra


Conducted by: Nicolò Foron (The Forest in April) and Sander Teepen (Rimpelingen).

Recorded by: TRPTK (TTK 0076)

ORDER CD

Preview the Score

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GET THE FULL SCORE

Interviews

“What interested them both was the way humans tend to shut nature out, living in urban environments, and the realisation that we live in a world where nothing has been left untouched by humanity; how is this possible?”

ROBERT HUGILL, PLANET HUGILL
Read the full article (EN)

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