In his last years, Prokofiev and the young Rostropovich, now in his mid-twenties, became fast friends, spending a number of summers together at the composer’s dacha in Nikolina Gora, whilst collaborating on the re-writing of the early cello concerto and a couple of other cello works which Prokofiev did not live to complete. The Concertino Op 132 is from this time. Left incomplete, the composer Dmitry Kabalevsky, together with Rostropovich, worked from Prokofiev’s piano score, and with the cellist’s memories of conversations about how the work would end, as the final movement was left unfinished at the time of Prokofiev’s death. Naturally, Rostropovich was soloist in the first performance of the orchestrated version, in March 1860. Prokofiev had spoken of the piece as ‘delicate’, and while it might be so for this composer, this is still a strong work, brimming with character and immensely appealing. The opening Andante mosso states a delectably melancholy theme, with a thorough and typically tough development section, while the succeeding Andante is wistful and the Allegretto finale full of fun, picking up on a theme from his own Symphony-Concerto, and whilst throwing in some militaristic elements is generally in good spirits.

from notes by M Ross © 2015