Though Max Bruch did not, strictly speaking, leave behind a cello concerto, cellists are nevertheless extremely grateful for the four single-movement concertante pieces from his pen. Of course, ‘Kol Nidrei’ is Bruch's most popular composition for cello, but the other works are also played with pleasure and frequently recorded. One of these is the present ‘Adagio on Celtic Melodies’ (op. 56) which Bruch composed in 1890. Like many of his orchestral works, the piece uses a folk melody in each of its two sections. The first melody is Scottish (not Celtic at all!), the second is Irish.
Belgian arranger Yorick de Bruycker transcribed this ‘Adagio on Celtic Melodies’ for Cello with accompaniment of a Symphonic Band.