This tribute piece was commissioned as a birthday surprise to Michael Berman. The first performance was given by Raphael Wallfisch at a private event in 2004 at the Palace of Westminster. Although entirely unbarred the music is fully notated, both rhythmically and melodically. The B flat-B motif derived from the work's title (i.e. H-B in German notation) features prominently throughout, and a wide expressive and dynamic range is called for.
Although small in scale, this work is an important addition to MacMillan's output for the cello, already distinguished by the short, intense solo in "angustiis II ...", a large-scale concerto and two mighty sonatas.
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