Oystein Baadsvik

"20th-Century Tuba Concertos"

Concerto For Bass Tuba (Ralph Vaughan Williams)

1. Prelude
2. Romanza
3. Finale - Rondo alla Tedesca

Concerto For Tuba and Orchestra (Alexander Arutiunian)

4. Allegro moderato
5. Andante sostenuto
6. Allegro ma non troppo

7. Landscape for tuba, string orchestra and piano (Torbjorn Iwan Lundquist)

Concerto For Tuba and Orchestra (John Williams)

8. Allegro moderato
9. Andante
10. Allegro molto

��2008, Bis Records

PERSONNEL:
Oystein Baadsvik - tuba
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Anne Manson - conductor

HISTORY:
The Norwegian tubaist Oystein Baadsvik has made his mark with a number of highly
varied recordings on BIS, including a parade of show-stoppers such as Vivaldi's
Winter and Monti's Csardas (Tuba Carnival, BIS-CD-1285) and a recital featuring
both Hindemith's Sonata and tangos by Piazzolla (Danzas, BIS-CD-1585). The results
have been highly acclaimed by reviewers, for instance on the classicstoday.com
website, where Tuba Carnival was described as 'an extremely well planned, perfectly
executed recital in which humor, charm, and virtuosity combine to make the best
possible case for the tuba as star of the show, at least once in a while.' In
International Record Review, the sequel Danzas met with an equally warm welcome:
'An outstanding recital ... Baadsvik's playing combines sweetness with strength,
intensity with perception...' The present disc picks up the thread from Baadsvik's
latest release, a programme of 20th-century tuba concertos (BIS-CD-1515) which
included works by Vaughan Williams as well as John Williams. The turn has now come
to three highly individual works from this century, two of which (Hogberg and
Sandstrom) are available for the first time on disc. A unique opportunity thus to
acquaint oneself with the music of our very own time, as well as with the latest
exploits of a world-leading instrumentalist, expertly backed up by the Norrkoping
Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Mats Rondin

On this disc, the Norwegian tuba virtuoso Oystein Baadsvik explores some of the
classic concertante works for tuba, including pieces by the Georgian composer
Alexander Arutiunian and the Swedish composer Torbjorn Lundquist. The programme
opens and closes with a Williams, however. Written in 1954, Ralph Vaughan Williams'
Concerto for Bass Tuba was at first considered a last eccentricity of an aged
composer, but with the passing of time it has become recognized as a classic. 13
years later John Williams first included a big tuba solo in one of his film scores.
Describing it as 'an agile instrument, like a huge cornet' he has been using the
instrument ever since, for instance giving it the unforgettable theme of the movie
Jaws. His Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra was composed for the centenary of the
Boston Pops Orchestra in 1985, and is a light and tuneful work well suited for such
an occasion.

Noone could be better placed than Baadsvik to show the tuba in this unaccustomed
role � throughout his career he has dumbfounded audiences around the world with his
virtuosic and expressive performances. On his previous four discs on BIS he has
given renditions of works as diverse as Kalevi Aho's resolutely modernist concerto
from 2004 and Vivaldi's Winter 'with a lissome fluency suggesting that anything a
violin can do, a tuba can do too' (Daily Telegraph, UK). On the present disc he is
expertly supported by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Anne Manson.