Concerto For French Horn was commissioned by Jukka Harju in 2010. I started writing the piece in Paris in the spring 2011, but typically for me, I had to sweep aside a couple of misconceived efforts before the work started taking shape.
It was equally typical, that the concerto was interrupted several times by other works. This is not a bad thing, because even though one is not constantly working on a composition, the music itself keeps evolving in the composer’s subconsciousness. And just as often the work becomes better for having had the time to evolve. The main work was done in the first half of 2013, and the final barline was drawn in June that same year. The world premiere was performed by Sinfonia Lahti under the baton of Eva Ollikainen.
The concerto lasts around 25 minutes, and is divided into three movements (Ominoso - Luminoso - Animoso) that are played without a pause. The cadenza section at the end of Luminoso is again a product of a close co-operation with Jukka Harju, whose tips were very helpful. The music has several speeds and moods, but as it is just music and nothing else, I do not want to say anything about it. This music is yours, dear listener – make of it what you like.
© Osmo Tapio Raihala 2013
