The composer states:'The term 'oblique strategies? was coined jointly by British musician Brian Eno and German-born British visual artist Peter Schmidt to describe a series of printed cards they developed throughout the 1970's. The cards had their origins in sets of uncannily similar working principles that both artists had established independently, and featured aphorisms intended as a means of triggering inspiration or providing useful stimulus during the creative process, particularly when encountering difficulties of fatigue or time constraint.As Eno and Schmidt wrote in their introduction to the first edition in 1975: 'They can be used as a pack (a set of possibilities being continuously reviewed in the mind) or by drawing a single card from the shuffled pack when a dilemma occurs in a working situation. In this case, the card is trusted even if its appropriateness is quite unclear. They are not final, as new ideas will present themselves, and others will become self-evident?.I chose eleven of Eno and Schmidt's strategies, ordering them in a way that revealed to me a logic and potential inter-relatedness within a hitherto disparate set of single ideas I had assembled for solo cello, each of them in turn a reflection upon the commission's initial purpose of creating a test piece for the 2014 Emanuel Feuermann cello competition.It's my hope then that the resultant composition may provide not only an interesting test of the competitors' talents but also offer the interpreter an opportunity to reflect upon the delights and pitfalls of creativity as he or she comes to terms with the various musical and technical challenges to be found within these ten minutes of music for solo cello.? / Violoncelle

The composer Patrick Burgan and the giant of French music Henri Dutilleux formed real elective affinities with each other. Dutilleux never missed an oppor­tunity to mention the high esteem in which he held the younger musician's work. Dedicated to the memory of Henri Dutilleux, Songe À La Douceur takes its title from the 2nd verse of 'L'Invitation au Voyage', from the 'Fleurs du mal' by Baudelaire - a poet who was a constant source of inspiration for Dutilleux. Burgan invites listeners to explore the musical universe of the French master: the numerous quotations of his work, duly flagged in the score, form a superb constellation that stretches from the Mystère de l'Instant to the Deuxième Symphonie via the quartet Ainsi la nuit, Métaboles and the concerto for cello Tout un monde lointain. Reflecting L'Invitation au Voyage, the composer follows the principle of verse and refrain, and the hypnotic return of the soft chords in pizzicato echoes the famous lines: 'Là, tout n'est qu'ordre et beauté, / Luxe, calme et volupté?. This tribute, in the form of a delicate alchemy, combines sparkle, sweetness and spirit. / Violoncelle