It was awarded a gold medal at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students the following year and was subsequently performed through both the Eastern and Western Blocs, launching the Estonian composer's career.
Tamberg's Concerto Grosso is scored for a wind quintet consisting of flute, clarinet, trumpet, alto saxophone and bassoon, piano, percussion and a string orchestra, and consists of three movements lasting ca.
25 minutes: A high-spirited neoclassical composition, it is representative of the mild modernism promoted by the Soviet regime though the Thaw after years of harsh artistic repression, and it is notable for its use of the saxophone, which had been banned in 1949 as a decadent instrument.
To get some edginess into the sound and rhythm, I added the piano and percussion.
The title turned out wordy: Concerto for five wind instrument, piano, percussion and string orchestra.