Unconventional concertos
DJ Switch is one of the more unusual concerto soloists
The concerto form – where virtuoso soloists dazzle against the backdrop of a full orchestra – has inspired audiences and composers since the early 18th century. As well as many of the great single-instrument concertos this year, there is a strand of unusual concertos which focus either on two or more soloists or the use of unusual combinations of soloists – from clarinet and flugelhorn to coloratura soprano and from string quartet to DJ with turntables.
The acclaimed Capuçon brothers (violinist Renaud and cellist Gautier) make their Proms debuts and launch the series with two evenings of concertos for two or more instruments. They are joined by pianist Martha Argerich for Beethoven's Triple Concerto for violin, cello and piano (), before performing Brahms's Concerto in A minor for violin and cello ().
Major premieres also put unusual combinations of instruments with orchestra: Pascal Dusapin's String Quartet No. 6, Hinterland with the Arditti Quartet, for whom it was written (); Simon Holt's Centauromachy, a Double Concerto for clarinet and flugelhorn (); and Thomas Larcher's new Double Concerto for violin and cello, specially written for Viktoria Mullova and Matthew Barley (). Robin Holloway's Fifth Concerto for Orchestra, another 91Èȱ¬ commission, also explores the concerto form ().
Further highlights in this strand of unconventional concertos include Glière's Concerto for Coloratura Soprano performed by Ailish Tynan and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra () and, perhaps the most unusual of all, the groundbreaking Concerto for Turntables and Orchestra by Gabriel Prokofiev (grandson of composer Sergey Prokofiev), performed by the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and DJ Switch ().
