Double Concerto for Clarinet and Bassoon

For two of the principals of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, music director Manfred Honeck thought to spotlight them with a new work. The commission went to Leshnoff, who was happy to produce the Concerto for the pair (a couple!), who premiered the work in June 2019 with the PSO. In May, the co-commissioning Greenwich Village Orchestra will end its current season the PSO principals, Michael Rusinek (clarinet) and Nancy Goeres (bassoon) in the NYC premiere. Leshnoff describes the Concerto: "The first movement is very slow and intense and brooding, and it uses the bassoon’s high register frequently. The second movement is a scherzo, and it’s supposed to be funny, like a short drunken waltz with the bassoon buffooning along. The last movement is an intense and driving allegro." (Jeremy Reynolds, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)