Suite for Two Cellos

Suite for Two Cellos, Harriet Steinkefor two cellos In February of 2017, I had just given my first recital at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and had started planning for my next recital. I was toying with programming the Suite for Solo Cello by Benjamin Britten when, around the same time, Harriet sent me a message saying she had just listened to that very piece for the first time and wanted to write a piece like it. The piece took shape over the next several months. I had initially asked for a piece for solo cello, but it was Harriet’s idea, quite early in the process, to add a second cello part. Although this piece took its initial cues from Britten’s Suite for Solo Cello, and I did program the two pieces alongside each other, Harriet’s “Suite for Two Cellos” draws the bulk of its inspiration from the very fact of its instrumentation.—Kellen Degnan, 2021 Harriet Steinke, Composer · Suite for Two Cellos