Olli Mustonen: Apotheosis: Violoncelles (Ensemble)

I gave my Apotheosis the subtitle "in memoriam Pablo Casals". It is written for four cellos a cappella and has been commissioned by the Kronberg Academy to be premiered at the opening of the new Casals Forum. It is a dialogue of two thematic worlds: one in my mind associates strongly with Casals’ roots in Catalonia, the other draws its inspiration from the musical language of Bach’s choral preludes. The character of this work is very dramatic and powerful – through darkness and struggle it finds its way to its dissonant, but heroic conclusion. - Olli Mustonen