Good Vaughn Williams Concerto Recordings

[craigpotter]

What are they and where can i get one
THanks

Craig

[Mark E. Chachich]

My pick (there are other excellent recordings).

John Fletcher - tuba
Andre Previn - Conductor
London Symphony Orchestra

I think that it is reissued on CD by RCA

excellent musicianship, excellent orchestra, a fine English solo (yes, I like the VW) by fine English musicians

good luck,
Mark

[ZACH336]

My personal favorite is "The English Tuba" With Eugene Dowling, very good cd with alot of other great pieces on the disk also. Eugene Dowling has a great sound that I really enjoy listening to.

[jtuba]

Does Mike Moore in Atlanta count? Not only did he perform the VW, he played "iron man" and played VW's Second Symphony the second half. Take that Yo-Yo Ma.

[Steve Marcus]

Rex Martin performed the VW a couple of years ago with the Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, whose personnel are primarily Chicago Symphony Orchestra members.

[craigpotter]

Thanks guys - the recording with Fletcher is on the way!!

[Rick Denney]

What are they and where can i get one
THanks

Craig

Here's my review of the Bell recording, which I think is musically valid and historically important:

viewtopic.php?t=7497

Also, I would strongly recommend that any tuba player should obtain Hans Nickel's recording. It's my favorite of all of them, but I think beyond that it is an important reference. Nickel, unlike Lind and Fletcher, actually play the music as it is marked in the published part. Anyone performing this work in front of a jury using the published music to judge the performance will risk attracting lots of complaints if they play it the way Fletcher or Lind played it. It won't match the music. There are anecdotes to suggest that the published work was edited incorrectly compared to the manuscript, but those judges won't know that.

Hans Nickel's recording is on the CD CanTUBAllada published by Valve-Hearts but now distributed and sold by World of Brass. Here's the link:

http://www.worldofbrass.com/acatalog/21310.html

Here's the Fletcher:

http://www.towerrecords.com/product.aspx?pfid=1067706

I can't seem to find the Lind anywhere at the moment, but someone will know where to find it.

Rick "it's late and sometimes I forget my middle name" Denney

[Peach]

You're getting the Fletcher which I'd recommend over all others if you can only have one. Really any serious student ought to have all available recordings - especially since there are so few available.

Nickel, unlike Lind and Fletcher, actually play the music as it is marked in the published part. Anyone performing this work in front of a jury using the published music to judge the performance will risk attracting lots of complaints if they play it the way Fletcher or Lind played it. It won't match the music. There are anecdotes to suggest that the published work was edited incorrectly compared to the manuscript, but those judges won't know that.

Rick, I'm not disagreeing, just asking: What differences exactly are you referring to between the Fletch, Lind and Nickel offerings?
In my opinion they are each perfectly valid readings of the work and I don't think any great liberties are taken by any of the artists (nor on ANY recordings of the work I've heard). I happen to prefer the Fletch reading but it's just preference.
When you consider the massive variances in performances of Concertos by other instrumentalists (stock Violin & Piano Rep comes to mind), any differences in the VW recordings seem very minor.

Would like to hear opinions...

[Mark]

Is it just me, Or has it been a good long while since this piece has been performed by a Tuba player in a Major Orchestra with said orchestra?

Chris Olka performed the VW with the Seattle Symphony a year or two ago.

[Rick Denney]

Rick, I'm not disagreeing, just asking: What differences exactly are you referring to between the Fletch, Lind and Nickel offerings?

Vaughan Williams apparently had long slur markings in many places, especially in the first movement, on his manuscript. A copy of that has made the rounds, though I've never seen it. Roger Bobo stated as much, and that he had a copy of it, at the Army conference a few years ago. The markings are indeed more consistent with the phrasings and articulations in the accompanying parts, near as I can tell from what I've heard about it.

Apparently, Mr. Catelinet didn't want to (or couldn't) play it that way, and his approach was severely clipped even in sections where the accompanists played the slurred phrases. Also apparently, the Oxford printed edition reflects many of the decisions Catlinet made. The composer was there for the premiere and may have revised his manuscript according to the abilities of the player, or even because he preferred it that way; we don't know.

When I follow along the various recordings while reading the published tuba part, I see lots of staccato markings and marcato where Lind and to a lesser extent Fletcher play connected phrases more like the strings. Nickel articulates them as marked. But the difference between Nickel's approach and Catelinet's is that Nickel sells it with those markings.

Nickel also accomplishes something that I think only Bell also achieved (of the recordings I've heard): He brought out the humor in the work. I think we take this piece way too seriously. Vaughan Williams was not by any means taciturn though he could be intense. His sarcasm is mostly aimed at himself in the anecdotes that survive in the literature (e.g. "I know it looks wrong, and sounds wrong, but it's right"). There's no way the same guy that composed the Symphony in F Minor could have intended the Tuba Concerto to be intense and serious, especially in that first movement.

Fletcher's performance is masterful, but I wonder if the typical concerto competition jurist would complain that he strayed too far from the ink. In a regular performance situation, of course, this can be justified especially considering the (apparent) existence of the manuscript version.

Rick "who prefers the Nickel rendition in particular because of the humor" Denney

[David]

John Fletcher's records is definately my favorite....such a sweet sound