The cello concerto has been positively received by music critics. Reviewing the world premiere, Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times remarked of the work, "The solo cello writing has a slightly autumnal flavor — maybe too autumnal for a vital 55-year-old composer (he was born three days before Salonen). But this is also brilliantly mature cello writing that takes full advantage of Karttunen's natural grace unruffled by even the most extreme virtuosic demands." He added, "Mainly, Lindberg exploits the cellist's mastery of nuance. The orchestra is of modest size (no percussion). Unlike in his first concerto, where cellist and orchestra are in fierce contrast, Lindberg removes conflict by painting with glowing instrumental colors an exotic sonic landscape around which the cello dives and dances and exults."[2]
Theodore Bell of Culture Spot LA called it "a wonderful concerto" and opined, "Its intensity derived from the occasional expressionist motifs mixed in with delightful tonal snippets. Themes would bounce back and forth between the orchestra and Karttunen, but the orchestral writing was relatively conventional in comparison to his endless variations of timbre and effect."[3] Andrew Mellor of Gramophone similarly wrote, "Where Lindberg's First Cello Concerto is a more thick and integrated work than its successor, the Second varies its moods more despite restrained scoring. It has moments of blossoming lyricism, and greater spread and intensity in its solo writing, particularly in the cadenzas."[4]
