Presto from Solo III (1991)

Although he is known above all for his large-scale symphonies, the Finnish composer Kalevi Aho has also made a speciality of pieces (under the generic title Solo) for unaccompanied string and wind instruments. Since 1975 he has written Solos for violin, flute, cello, bassoon and double bass. The first movement of Solo III was comissioned as a test piece for the Scandinavian Flute Competition in 1990. A year later, to balance a slow moving study in quarter-tones, Aho wrote a virtuoso Presto second movement in a very fast perpetual motion. Beginning mysteriously in the lower register, the flute gradually climbs towards the top of its range while, according to the composer, “the texture becomes more complex and is enriched with hidden polyphony.” Happily, there are breathing spaces, including a number of passages where the notes are not voiced and only the delicately percussive sound of the keys can be heard.