The Third Strathclyde Concerto was written in 1989, and first performed in Glasgow's City Halls on 19 January 1990 by the horn player Robert Cook and trumpeter Peter Franks (to both of whom the work is dedicated), with the composer conducting the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Although preceded in this series by concertos for oboe and cello, the present work is more influenced by Davies' Fourth Symphony (also written for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra), with its frequently intricate writing for groups of wind instruments, while the influence of the Sinfonia Concertantes for wind by Haydn and Mozart is also a background presence. As with the first two concertos in the series, the instrumentation is for a nominally Classical orchestra of double woodwind, timpani and strings; though the former is expanded in terms of its lower compass through the inclusion of alto flute, cor anglais, bass clarinet and contrabassoon-thereby affording the orchestral textures a richness and intricacy such as places the solo instruments in pointed and increasingly stark relief.

The first movement opens with a brusque pizzicato chord, followed up by woodwind and strings before the trumpet and horn make forceful entries, then engage in a dialogue of simmering intensity against often dense woodwind harmonies. A brief climax is cut short, while strings and woodwind continue in a more subdued manner prior to the soloists' stealthy re-emergence. They are heard briefly over timpani, then stride forward incisively before being waylaid by upper strings and flutes-which instruments provide a gradually accelerating transition into the second movement. This initially unfolds at an animated pace with the soloists trading excited exchanges while woodwind pursue a constantly changing melodic line which duly passes to strings-the horn presently appearing over pizzicato strings and lower woodwind, with the trumpet engaging in a more heated dialogue with strings and timpani. Spectral upper strings maintain the momentum, before the soloists (horn initially muted) take the music onwards to a forceful culmination which is summarily cut short by timpani.

The third movement is a cadenza in which the soloists unfold a series of intensifying exchanges into which strings then woodwind are gradually absorbed. Solo flute then has a musing transition into the fourth movement, its melodic outline taken up by strings with solo violin presently coming to the fore. The horn's entry brings a marked intensifying of mood, continued by that of the trumpet as the music takes on the guise of a measured processional with tremolo string writing much in evidence. A tense culmination is reached over pounding timpani, leaving the trumpet alone over barely audible lower strings, the horn interjecting with a continuation of the previous climax again silenced by the trumpet's rejoinder. Speculative woodwind chords now lead into the finale, begun by gently pulsating timpani to which the soloists respond incisively over strings then continue after a piquant interlude for woodwind. The music heads towards a decisive climax fronted by the soloists, their interjections continuing against ruminative woodwind prior to the crescendoing final chord.

Writer: Richard Whitehouse