Concertino a tre

Rolla’s appealing Concertino for viola, cello and bassoon dates from the early 1780s and was expressly written to be played by the composer and two of his fellow virtuosos in the orchestra of the ducal court of Parma when performing in towns throughout northern Italy. As such, the instrumental writing is vivid testimony to the technical skills and interpretative abilities of these three musicians. While entirely classical in its harmonic and melodic language, and in the structure and number of its movements, the work features several solos that exploit the higher registers of the instruments, particularly the cello and bassoon, in a somewhat ‘un-classical’ manner, and foreshadow the compositions of 19th-century Italian string virtuosos. This is a most welcome addition to the chamber repertoires of all three instruments.