Concerto for Brass and Orchestra

The Tuba Concerto was composed in 1953/4 after the London Symphony Orchestra invited Vaughan Williams to write a work for inclusion in the Orchestra’s fiftieth anniversary concert. The first performance was given by Philip Catelinet in the Royal Festival Hall London on 13th June 1954 with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.The brass band arrangement is by Phillip Littlemore and is a welcome addition to the brass band repertoire.

Full Score-The Horn Concerto was written in 1971 and was the first of the ten concertos Gregson has composed to date. It is dedicated to the English horn player Ifor James who died in 2004 and was originally written for brass band. However in 2013 Gregson was asked by Paul Klein Principal Horn of the Ulster Orchestra and BBC Northern Ireland to undertake an orchestral version for him.  Gregson decided to score the concerto for a late Haydn sized orchestra with the addition of a percussionist to add some colour to the texture. The concerto takes as its starting point the Mozartian model namely a sonata form opening movement a song-like slow movement and a jaunty rondo finale. The opening movement opens with a strident motif built on rising fourths announced by the soloist and answered by the orchestra. This pattern of ‘question/answer’ continues until a climactic moment breaks the tension and is followed by a lyrical second subject announced by the soloist over undulating rhythmic patterns on strings. The music is developed and recapitulated from these ideas with the lyrical idea returning via solo clarinet with horn answering in canon. The movement ends with the strident fourths this time in inversion. The slow movement is in tertiary form and opens with an expansive melody from the soloist over a repetitive harmonic and melodic pattern. This is expanded and developed building all the while in intensity until it is interrupted by cadenza-like passages on the horn and muted brass. After a brief climax the music subsides into a moment of emotional serenity before the opening melody returns this time on solo oboe with the horn interweaving its own answering melodic lines. The rondo finale is more light-hearted in mood with a catchy 6/8 tune at its heart. It is twice interrupted first by an idea built on long held chromatic notes from the soloist against a highly rhythmic backdrop (wind brass and snare drum) then by a slower more thoughtful melodic idea. However

According to his teachers Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) was not particularly gifted. His special talents were acknowledged only in 1865 when he had been working for the Ministry of Finances for some years. In 1866 he was appointed teacher at the Conservatory and applied himself to composing. His oeuvre is fairly extensive and many of his compositions receive a high ranking on the international list of classical music including his six symphonies solo concertos (violin concerto and piano concertos) ballets (The Nut Cracker Swan Lake) and his overtures (1812 and Romeo and Juliette). In 1893 Tchaikovsky died of Cholera after drinking a glass of infectedwater. His Slavonic March is a popular concert piece for symphonic orchestra that is still frequently performed in concert halls. David Well arranged the theme and created a contemporary march in rock style. Tchaikovsky once said to an unsatisfied teacher: ‘I will be a great composer within 10 years time.’

Malcolm Arnold's one act ballet score Homage To The Queen was commissioned in 1953 by the Royal Opera House Covent Garden to celebrate the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The ballet was conceived and choreographed by Frederick Ashton with designs by Oliver Messel and was danced by the full company of the Sadler's Wells Ballet with an illustrious cast that comprised Nadia Nerina as Queen of the Earth Violetta Elvin as Queen of the Waters Beryl Grey as Queen of Fire and Margot Fonteyn as Queen of the Air. The conductor of the ROH orchestra was Robert Irving. Homage to the Queen was first performed on the night of the coronation 2June1953.One of the towering musical figures of the 20th century Sir Malcolm Arnold has a remarkable catalogue of major concert works to his credit including nine symphonies seven ballets two operas one musical over twenty concertos two string quartets and music for brass band and wind band. He has also written over 132 film scores and among these are some of the finest works ever composed for the medium: Bridge On The River Kwai Inn Of The Sixth Happiness Hobson's Choice Whistle Down The Wind and David Copperfield.

Carl Nielsen (1865-1931) was a Danish musician often seen as his country’s greatest composer. While his operas and songs have become embedded within the cultural heritage in his native Denmark internationally he is better known for his symphonies and concertos distinguished by his prominent use of Brass instruments and dramatic changes in tonality.His Symphony No.3 (Op. 27 FS. 60) was composed in 1911 and is often subtitled Sinfonia Espansiva after the tempo designation of the first movement. Somewhat unusually the second movement includes vocal parts: wordless solos for Soprano and Baritone. Throughout Nielsenexpertly contrasts sections of blissful calm with passages of incredible angst creating a wonderfully moving masterpiece.

Elgar Howarth’s Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra has been arranged for Trumpet with Piano accompaniment by Martin Harvey. The new Piano reduction cleverly compensates for the extendedpassages of untuned percussion in the original accompaniment adding yet another dimension to this exciting and volatile work. Elgar Howarth (b. 1935) is one of the foremost Brass musicians in Britain today; highlyregarded as a performer conductor composer and teacher. He was born into the northern Brass Band heritage and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now the RNCM). He played the Trumpet at the Royal Opera House andthe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra while also conducting and composing for several Brass Bands most notably the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. He has since written extensively for solo Brass instruments and continues to teach theTrumpet at the Royal Academy of Music.