Tuba Concerto (Vaughan Williams) Tuba Concerto (Vaughan Williams) The Concerto in F Minor for Bass Tuba and Orchestra by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams was written in 1954 for Philip Catelinet, principal tubist of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), who together gave the premiere on 13 June 1954 with Sir John Barbirolli conducting. The same musicians made the work’s first recording that same year. While at first viewed as the eccentric idea of an aging composer, the concerto soon became one of Vaughan Williams' most popular works, and an essential part of the tuba repertoire. The work is in three movements: A performance commonly
Symphony No. 6 (Vaughan Williams) tempo marking but the feel is decidedly slower here. The symphony continues to provoke much speculation about its "meaning", and the only clue from Vaughan Williams himself (as quoted by his widow), points us in the direction of an agnostic "Nunc dimittis". A typical performance takes about 35 minutes. It is scored for a large orchestra including: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets (in B♭), tenor saxophone, bass clarinet (in B♭), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in B♭), 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, side drum, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, xylophone, harp (optionally doubled), and