Salut d’amour

British cellist Marie Macleod has been a familiar presence in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra since 2013, when she joined as principal cello. In this concert, she is joined by pianist Martin Sturfält to highlight music for cello by four English composers.

The youngest among them is Cheryl Frances-Hoad, born in 1980, who herself studied cello at the renowned Yehudi Menuhin School in England and has composed a number of works for the instrument – including a widely acclaimed cello concerto. Her music has been described as both sparkling and volcanically intense, and here, Marie Macleod performs a suite for solo cello.

It is framed by Frank Bridge’s expressive Sonata for Cello and Piano and Benjamin Britten’s sonata, written for Mstislav Rostropovich and brimming with inventive ideas, vibrant pizzicatos and lyrical intensity. The concert concludes with one of Edward Elgar’s most beloved and frequently performed works, Salut d’amour – originally written for violin and piano but perfectly suited to the cello.