Einojuhani Rautavara

Concerto 'Dances with the Winds' op. 69

Additional to the original scoring for flute, piccolo, alto flute, and bass flute, the flute part in the piano reduction contains ossias for alto flute instead of the bass flute.

'The flute concerto 'Dances with the Winds' was composed in 1974 for the Swedish flautist Gunilla von Bohr, a specialist in all members of the flute family. The ordinary flute thus alternates with a bass flute at the beginning and end of the four-movement concerto, the second movement is assigned to the shrill piccolo and the third to the sensuous alto flute. The last movement is a summary of all the musical events in the concerto. At the end the bass flute soars to the top of its register, the note D acting as the pivot to many of the symmetries in the work, against a resigned B flat minor chord on the orchestra.'
(Einojuhani Rautavaara)