Posted by Rick Denney on January 29, 2002 at 15:14:21:
In Reply to: Re: History of Concerto posted by Scott on January 29, 2002 at 13:57:13:
And read up on Vaughan Williams, about which there is much in print (more than for John Williams, for example). The best researched biography is the one by Kennedy (The Works of Ralph Vaughan Williams, I think it's called) and the most entertainingly personal is the one by Ursula Vaughan Williams ("RVW"). Especially read Vaughan Williams himself, particularly his views on the importance of folk song (the book "National Music and other Essays" is the one to get).
By the way, the harmonica thing has nothing to do with the Tuba Concerto. When he wrote his Harmonica Concerto, there was some concern that the artist who commissioned the work would not like it. In response to this concern, Vaughan Williams said, "In that case I'll just rewrite it for bass tuba." Or something like that.
One interesting question to try and answer in a real critical review of the Tuba Concerto is whether or not it is program music. That is, is it narrative (as with the 2nd Symphony, which is about London) or is it absolute music (as in the 4th, which VW said was "about F minor")? How would one know? If you can discuss how music affects listeners narratively versus the opposite, and how the Tuba Concerto might fit into that, you will have something to write about.
Most concerti seem to want to tell a story, primarily, "This guy is really good, which I will now demonstrate." Some have musical power that transcends the instrument, such as Beethoven's Emperor Concerto for piano. Does the Vaughan Williams do that? How would you know? One way might be to arrange for a listening session, and question first time listeners to the work as well as those who profess to love it, to see how they respond.
Of course, what would be interesting to me might not be to your teachers. But you'll learn quickly in the study of Vaughan Williams that he was neither conflicted nor neurotic, and it is quite difficult to connect any of the history of his life to his music, other than the folksong thing. If you write about the Tuba Concerto, you have to therefore concentrate on the music itself, and how it affects its listeners. If "Amadeus" was made about Vaughan Williams ("Vaughan"?), it would be a remarkably boring plot.
Rick "but the score would be sublime" Denney