“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)