Tuba Concerto - NO090581 | Musica

Edward Gregson (b. 1945) represents the younger school of composers who are bridging the gap between the romantic music played by many of the brass and wind bands earlier in this century and the more experimental avant-garde compositions written during the last decade or two. Gregson was born in Sunderland, in the northeast English County of Durham, in 1945. He began to take an interest in music at about the age of eight and was soon taking piano lessons and playing in a local Salvation Army Band. At eleven, he started to write some piano pieces, and at eighteen, he entered the Royal Academy of Music, London. Gregson taught at the University of London Goldsmith's College. He is now Principal of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK. His hobbies include tennis, squash, and watching football.

Tuba Concerto

Originally written for Brass Band (and subsequently for orchestra), this work was commissioned by the Besses o 'th' Barn Band, with funds provided by the Arts Council of Great Britain. It is dedicated to John Fletcher, who gave the first performance of the wind band version in June of 1984. The concerto is in three movements, following the usual quick-slow-quick pattern. The first is in a sonata-form shell with a reference made in the development section to the opening theme of Vaughan William's Tuba Concerto, but only in passing. The second movement is a long cantabile melody for the soloist and the last movement is in rondo form, alternating the main theme with the two episodes. After a short cadenza, reference is made to the opening of the concerto, and the work ends with a triumphal flourish.