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. 9 (Vaughan Williams) opening theme of the slow movement comes from music Vaughan Williams had composed more than fifty years earlier: "A Sea Symphony" and an even earlier, unpublished tone poem from 1904 called "The Solent". <score vorbis="1"> \relative c' { \clef treble \key d \minor \numericTimeSignature \time 4/4 \tempo "Poco animando" 4 = 100 <d bes>8\p <d bes> <d bes> bes <cis a>4 <cis a> | <d bes>8 <d bes> <d bes> bes <ees c>4 <d bes> } </score> The orchestra includes: Vaughan Williams's program note accompanying the premiere performance remarked thus: The usual symphony orchestra is used with the addition of