Songs of Ascent

[LARSONTUBA]

Has anyone performed this since Warren Deck's premier in NYC in 1989 and Japan at ITEC 1990?

Just curious.

Andy Larson

[JB]

Has anyone performed this since Warren Deck's premier in NYC in 1989 and Japan at ITEC 1990?

Just curious.

Andy Larson

While not aware of any other performances, I was present in Sapporo to hear this work. While some time ago, I do recall being very, very impressed with Mr Deck's performance -- and the technical and musical mastery of the instrument. Range seemed somewhat 'up there' as well -- and while I cannot recall definitively what the final note was, something tells me it was certainly one hell of a note to nail at the end of a work. (Foggy recollection -- please correct me if wrong -- was it a high d? Anyone? The jetlag lasted for a few days in both directions... Not sure...)

Perhaps you might wish to contact Mr Deck an inquire of him directly. Or, alternatively, the composer at (if this is still a valid address; it has been a while...) <roger[at]rogerkellaway.com>

If you hear of any other performances, and better still, a recording, please post.

Oh, and this article (review may be of interest).

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/25/arts/ ... -solo.html

[Tony Halloin]

To answer the initial question, I don't know of anyone performing this work aside from Mr. Deck. A few years ago, myself and some of Mr. P's students were looking through his old recordings on tape and came across the ITEC tape from Mr. Deck's 1990 performance at Sapporo. We pulled the solo part from his files and popped in the tape. I remember thinking unequivically that it was the best F tuba playing I had ever heard. The sound was rich, clear, and beautiful through even the most difficult technical passages. And, man, were there a lot of those. At the very end of a good 20 minutes of blowing, Kellaway starts writing in the treble clef for the tuba to sound at pitch. There are a bunch of high As that need to be projected over a fairly loud accompaniment part. And then some Ds above that....that's right kids...Ds an octave above the one above the staff...and puny, screechy tone won't cut it at all. They need to be full and loud. Mr. Deck pulls it off. That piece is a beast.

[Pete Link]

Ditto to what Tony said. Warren's playing and sound on that performance is quite incredible. I obtained a copy of that at some point and was pretty floored upon hearing it. Not to mention, he plays it on his old Alex F, now owned by one of his students. Although those tubas are not known for there low register(having owned 2), Warren makes it "bark" just fine.
Not sure if it was from the same trip or not, but there is another recording of him doing the Broughton Sonata in Japan which is also fantastic. I would love to hear more solo stuff from him. Truly one of the greats.

Pete

[LARSONTUBA]

So the general concensus is that to the best of our knowledge, no one has performed this since Mr. Deck played it in Sapporo. Good to know.

I've been working on this piece for quite some time now, and hope to perform it with piano and orchestra in the next few years. I guess keep your eyes open for a post on it?

I, too, would like to hear more of Mr. Deck's solo playing. I will send him an email and see if he has anything he would be willing to share.

Thanks for yoru responses!

Andy Larson

[Kutz]

Hi. Pretty certain that Tom McCaslin has performed this a few times. I know that he was doing it when he studied with Bobo in Switzerland.

Maybe he has a cd or something from that time.
Cheers,
DK