Credits:

Euphonium Classical

Description:

Euphonium virtuoso Stephen Meade and the Brighouse & Rastrick Band have teamed up to create a wonderful album. The title tune, "UFO Concerto," is the first concerto Johan de Mey wrote for euphonium, and was co-commissioned by 11 brass bands and 4 brass bands in the US and Europe. From the introduction, Johan de Mey's typical harmonies ring out, drawing the audience into de Mey's worldview. The melody and technique of the soloist, Stephen Mead, are of course superb, but the colorful and lyrical sound of the Brighouse & Rastrick Band, who provide the accompaniment, is sure to captivate. The concerto is not played in the classical concerto style, but in a series of five movements, making it a huge work of nearly 25 minutes, but the superb performance makes you feel as if you have been listening to the whole thing for hours. The opening piece is "Blind Spot" by Gilles Rocha. Gilles Rocha himself is an active euphonium player and composer/arranger.Blind Spot" was composed for euphonium player Stephanie Gaspoff for the Swiss National Brass Solo Competition. As a competition piece, it combines technique, songfulness, and everything in between. The collection also includes eight other works, including "Simple Gift" written by Tom Davoren for Stephen Mead and "Pastoral; My Joy, O Crown" by Howard Evans. This is a fine album of Stephen Mead's best work, with Mead's desire to be a guide for all euphonium lovers.