The Koblenz Concerto explores the rich history of the local area and its connection with the river Rhine. The solo guitarists journey along the river from the Bodensee to Köln. Along the way, the changing musical landscape is shaped by ancient myths and artworks that were inspired by the river.

The concerto begins and ends bathed in light: J.M.W. Turner’s impressions of the Schaffhausen waterfalls and Gerhard Richter’s bold stained glass windows in Köln Cathedral. The central movement, and still centre of the concerto, evokes Andreas Gursky’s Rhein II – an artistically manipulated photograph that reduces the Rhine to calm, static, horizontal bands of colour. Interspersed are two intermezzi. One tells the story of the Lorelei and the other portrays the Romantic castles that adorn the hillsides along the river.

All five movements flow into one another – there are no breaks between movements.

The premiere took place on 7th June 2019 at the Rhein-Mosel-Halle, Großer Saal, Koblenz – Lorenzo Micheli and Matteo Mela (guitars), Mihhail Gerts (conductor), with the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, as part of the Koblenz International Guitar Festival. The performance given on June 2nd 2022 in Germany was subsequently broadcast on Deutschlandfunk Kultur on 31st October 2022.

Published by Doberman-Yppan in full score DO 1343 and piano reduction DO 1342 © 2020