If I had only known I would have written one years ago. He subsequently re-wrote the finale to incorporate more of the song when he heard of Josefina's death. The concerto's tendency to fluctuate between a passive mood of somber regret and a passionate yearning is evident in the long orchestral introduction with which it begins. With the soloist's reprise of the horn tune the cello's vocalizing quality comes into its own, and it does so even more thrillingly when the initial theme is developed, very softly, in the minor key.
Calm tranquility marks the start of the Adagio, the concerto's most poignant movement.
Again the woodwind introduce the first theme, which has something of a church procession about it. Throughout this movement the cello is like a mourner at a funeral, initially all quiet dignity but gradually unable to control its grief. Even in the fast Rondo-finale the sense of loss is maintained with a restless, questing solo part that ranges from febrile intensity to quiet acceptance. One of the concerto's greatest modern exponents is the Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich who has played it on a number of highly charged occasions, including a performance, in London, on the day after Russian tanks rolled into Prague. This recording dates from the same period and matches the unbridled power and passion of Rostropovich with the opulence of the Berlin Philharmonic under Karajan.