It was premiered by its dedicatee, Gregor Piatigorsky, in January 1957. It is a calmer, more serene composition than many of his earlier works – the violin concerto for example – reflecting the brevity of expression common in his later output. Its opening movement (Moderato) is pastoral and frequently beautiful, the second (Allegro appassionato) lively and passionate and the third (Tema ed improvvisazioni) contrasts both the pastoral and the passionate.

This live, warts-and-all recording, featuring Dutch cellist Peter Wispelwey, conductor Jeffrey Tate and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, was made in 2007 at the Sydney Opera House. Wispelwey is a passionate advocate for this work and it shows; the SSO, directed by the underrated Tate, play out of their skins.

The remainder of this disc was recorded later in Holland and features Wispelwey playing solo cello pieces of the 20^th century. It would be easy to dismiss these as mere filler, but they are actually wonderful and welcome renditions of some rarely heard pieces. Chief among them is a superb version of Ernest Bloch’s fascinating Bach-inspired Suite No. 1 for solo cello, alongside short works by György Ligeti, Walton and Benjamin Britten.