5 Facts About Delius’s Cello Concerto
- Delius composed his Cello Concerto in 1921, late in his career.
- It is one of his final orchestral works, written when he was already blind and paralyzed from syphilis.
- The concerto is in a single continuous movement, unlike traditional multi-movement cello concertos.
- It features lyrical, rhapsodic themes typical of Delius’s impressionistic style.
- The work was premiered in 1922 by cellist Beatrice Harrison, who championed the piece.