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I am researching Ralph Vaughan-William’s tuba concerto for a graduate dissertation. Could any possible give some insight to this monumental work? Like why RVW wrote it to begin with, what were some of his inspirations for the piece, or where can I find information of about this piece.

A lot can be learned just from buying a copy of the piece and reading the line at the top that says who it was written for and what the occasion was.

Aside from that, I suggest going to a library and looking up VW (forget trying to get anything you can actually use with a simple google search online). Figure out what books might apply to your topic and check them out. Almost any library can get any book through the inter-library loan system. It works great...I use it all the time. Since you are at a college/university (since it is a grad. dissertation) obtaining information is even easier.

I would also suggest talking to someone in the history (usually) dept. at your school that teaches historical/research methods. They can usually give you some help with obtaining information.

Good luck

Also...

Make certain you are doing more than researching the piece itself. Where was VW in his life? What was going on in the world? How did he write for the tuba in other contexts? What else did he write around that time? Can you draw some conclusions about the piece based on this (and other) information and then back it up with some evidence?

By the way, nothing got my dander up quicker than a student citing an internet resource as a primary source. The WWW is an amazing tool and will open up a lot of doors for you, but nothing beats going to the library. Generally speaking, authors are a lot more careful about what they write when it is going to end up in the stacks.

Mike "who spent the last 14 years trying to get students to investigate, hypothesize and back it up" Allen

One of my favorite oral examination questions "what is a tedesca?" Sometimes followed by, "Okay, so you looked it up. What is it and why did VW suggest this in the third movement?"

Thanks for the advice. However I have spent considerable time in 2 different libraries. I have not only analyzed the piece and listened to many recordings, I have preformed the piece. I am currently reading books on VW himself and tuba lit. / dev. What I was hopping to get was help in what resources to look at because I am not satisfied with what I have gotten to this point.

On a lighter note, I will go to the history department and talk to Prof.’s

I cannot find out anything on Philip Catelinet. The only information I have found listed his name as the first performer “du!!â€

A resource sometimes overlooked by researchers is the correspondence of a composer. The following web page:

http://www.agentsmith.com/modules.php?o ... icle&sid=5

seems to indicate that RVW didn't think much of the tuba as a serious instrument. You might want to investigate further...

And have you contacted these folks?

http://www.rvwsociety.com/aboutsociety.html

Yes I did contact the RVW Society. Thank you for your help!!

Duane

You might want to contact Dr. Michael A. Fischer at Boisie State. I seem to remember that he did his DMA dissertation project on the RVW Concerto. I'm sure you can find him on the school site. Good Luck.

J.D. Salas

You might want to contact Dr. Michael A. Fischer at Boisie State. I seem to remember that he did his DMA dissertation project on the RVW Concerto. I'm sure you can find him on the school site. Good Luck.

J.D. Salas

Duane wrote:Can anyone tell me what resources to look at that might be of help?

As a long-time member of the RVW Society, I can tell you that the Tuba Concerto is not the main reason they exist. The composer thought it fun, but certainly did not take it too seriously. We shouldn't, either. I suspect you'll find little on the work in the archives of that society's newsletter. I only remember one article, and it was a review of a performance with not much about the work itself except that the reviewer was surprised that it was as good as it was.

There is a recording of Philip Catelinet's performance, made the day following the premiere. I can't find it in the usual searches, but I bought it only recently so it exists out there. Do some searching in this and in the old Tubenet database--I've written the particulars before. That recording will tell you about the differences between the way Catelinet performed it and more recent performers. I'll look back, too, and if I find it I'll edit this post to include the link.

There is a recording made by Hans Nickel (Cantuballada, on the Valve-Hearts label) that follows the published version as played by Catelinet. It might be more available. It's also vastly better.

Catelinet played the work on a Besson compensating F tuba. This was a cousin of the very small uncompensated Barlow F tuba, which was also made by Besson. The book The Tuba Family by Cliffford Bevan will tell you all that is in print about that instrument. And if you want to find out more about Catelinet, you should get in touch with Fred Young, who worked to bring him to Pennsylvania to teach music after the premiere, if I understood the story correctly. A search of the old Tubenet will find his email address.

There is also a recording of Vaughan Williams conducting his fourth symphony, made in 1937. That will tell you what sort of tuba sound the composer would have been familiar with. The record series was called "The Composers Conduct" and included a recording from the late 20's of Holst conducting The Planets with an amateur orchestra. Again, my version is on CD, so it ought to be out there somewhere. The Pearl label comes to mind, but that may be wrong.

The books by Michael Kennedy on the life of Vaughan Williams are the most authoritative, when it comes to his musical output. It's also valuable to read the composer himself, in the book called "National Music and Other Essays" which has been published by Grove. You'll find little or nothing in books about the composer concerning the Tuba Concerto--it was published late in his life (after he did his writing), and was not the shining star of his oeuvre in the minds of his biographers and current fans.

Rick "who thinks a serious thesis on the Tuba Concerto would be mighty short" Denney

Just a little note to add..... There is a recording of the Romanza for Harmonica and Orchestra by RVW that is still available. I believe it is on the Phillips label. It is interesting to hear some of the seeds of the Tuba Concerto. Also explains some articulation issues if you know how a chromatic harmonica works.

Chris Olka did the VW last year with Seattle. Prior to the performance, the guest conductor made some comments and, according to him, it was originally written on commission as a harmonica concerto but was too difficult for the harmonica player so RVW put it on the shelf until asked to write a tuba concerto at which time he took it down and dusted it off and made some changes in it. If you think of it from this perspective, it really makes more sense why certain things (like the trills) are where they are in the music. I don't have an email address for Chris (used to, but lost it) but I am sure he can be reached through the Seattle Symphony web site. He also teaches at the University of WA. His interpretation was quite different than any I have ever heard and served to redefine the piece conceptually for me. Hope this helps.

crbarnes wrote:...the guest conductor made some comments and, according to him, it was originally written on commission as a harmonica concerto but was too difficult for the harmonica player so RVW put it on the shelf until asked to write a tuba concerto at which time he took it down and dusted it off and made some changes in it...

This sounds like a variation of what Vaughan Williams actually said. According to the biographical materials I've seen, the composer wrote a concerto for the harmonica player, only to have it rejected as being unplayable. He revised it, and sent it to the harmonica player with the note, "I've made all the changes I can, and if you still can't play it I'll rescore the whole thing for bass tuba!" Apparently, the harmonica player saved his music from that fate.

But Vaughan Williams composed the tuba concerto soon after that, on commission from the London Symphony, using new materials.

Rick "thinking this story sounds goes along with Arnold Jacobs having only one lung" Denney

Larry Adler was the harmonica player. Story was VW was working on th harmonica piece and told Adler that if he didn't like the first version, he'd rewrite it. If he didn't like the second version he'd rescore the whole thing for tuba. That was not the case, Adler liked it.

Thanks,

Tuba Journal 14 # 2 (1986) Pgs 30 – 33
Written by Mr. Catelinet himself

Tuba Journal 15 # 2 (1987) Pgs 29 – 31


DH