“The flute concerto ‘Dances with the Winds’ was composed in 1974 for the Swedish flautist Gunilla von Bohr, a specialist in all members of the flute family. The ordinary flute thus alternates with a bass flute at the beginning and end of the four-movement concerto, the second movement is assigned to the shrill piccolo and the third to the sensuous alto flute. The last movement is a summary of all the musical events in the concerto. At the end the bass flute soars to the top of its register, the note D acting as the pivot to many of the symmetries in the work, against a resigned B flat minor chord on the orchestra.”
Einojuhani Rautavaara