‘A concerto of relatively small dimensions’ is RogerSessions's own characterization of his Concertinofor Chamber Orchestra. In a programme noteaccompanying the recording and (in slightly abridgedform) the score, the composer explains how hisconception of the work arose largely from practical,though artistically relevant, circumstances. TheConcertino, written in 1971–72, had beencommissioned by the Fromm Foundation for TheContemporary Chamber Players of the University ofChicago, a group directed by the wellknown composerand conductor Ralph Shapey:

… Mr. Shapey's organization is composed of players who,especially among the woodwinds, are accustomed toplaying several instruments in their chosencategories. Since this work, designed as it is foran orchestra of chamber dimension, … by conceptionas well as by the demands of the medium itself,emphasizes solo performance, I decided to availmyself of the players' versatility and give each ofthe various available instruments a significant roleto play.

When this article was first mooted, Shostakovich wasalive and working—on a Sixteenth Symphony. Quiteapart from one's personal feelings about the man,the death of such an artist is bound to affect one'srelationship with his work. At its simplest, this isthe end of the line, the closing of the frontier;the knowledge that the old will not again be‘modified’ by the new. For the first time, there isthe possibility of seeing the work as a whole.However, so far as I am aware, the principal way inwhich the new situation has a bearing on thisarticle is entirely non-productive: I find myselfwondering in a rather different way how much weshall ever know of the discussions andheart-searching that preceded the withdrawal of theFourth Symphony and the composition of the Fifth.Did Shostakovich leave any diaries, or a personalmemoir, or …? But my intentions are strictlyfactual; as factual, that is, as critical scrutinycan make them.

A catalogue raisonnée of the works of LuigiDallapiccola is planned for the next issue of TEMPO,as a tribute to the memory of the Italian master ayear after his death. The followinginstrumentation-chart is a preliminary measuredesigned to elucidate the practical problems ofmounting performances of his vocal and non-vocalchamber music (from solo instrument to chamberorchestra—here defined as small orchestra withoutfull string body).