James Tavares and Daniel King-Smith

Performers

Notes on the performers

James Tavares

James Tavares is a young and exciting chamber and orchestral musician who is cementing himself as one of the top talents of his generation. Originally from Scotland, James has performed all over Europe as a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, having performed in iconic venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna and La Scalia Theatre in Milan. Having just completed his Undergraduate at the Royal Academy of Music, he is currently on trial for Principle Tuba at the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra as well as being one of two brass fellows of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s MMSF Scheme for the upcoming season.

Outside of the orchestra, James can often be heard performing with his Brass Quintet, London Central Brass, who have  recently won the Philip Jones  International Brass Ensemble Competition 2023 as well as the Musicians Company Brass Ensemble Prize 2023. Future projects include a recital and masterclass at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire as well as a recital at the iconic Wigmore Hall. James is generously supported by The Musicians Company, Countess of Munster Trust and Help Musicians UK as he Continues his studies at the Royal Academy of Music as a masters student.

Daniel King Smith

Daniel King Smith has given concerts all over the world as both soloist and accompanist. He has been broadcast on both BBC TV/Radio in the UK (In Tune, Proms, Young Musician of the Year) and NHK TV/Radio in Japan, most recently in recital with Yuki Ito as part of NHK’s “Best of Classic” and “Classic Club” series. Daniel has recorded a number of CDs, including releases with Yuki Ito for Sony and with Anna Hashimoto on the Meridian label. 

As a soloist, Daniel’s extensive concerto repertoire has lead to many concerts in the UK and around Europe. He has frequently been a featured Solo Classical Artist on many Cruise lines around the world. 

Accompaniment and chamber music are a major part of Daniel’s life, having held staff accompanist posts at both Royal College of Music and Royal Academy of Music Junior Departments and at the Purcell School. He regularly accompanies auditions, lessons, masterclasses and end of year recitals at the London conservatoires as well as being official accompanist for the Countess of Munster Trust. Daniel gives recitals every year with a number of people who have been accepted onto the Countess of Munster Recital Scheme as well as both the Tillett Trust and Making Music Recital Schemes. He is also official accompanist for the Tunbridge Wells International Young Concert Artists competition. Daniel is often resident pianist on summer music courses including the British Isles Music Festival and Musicale. He has given recitals with Michael Collins, Carmel Kaine, Susan Milan, Robert Max, Yuki Ito and Anna Hashimoto, amongst many others and is a member of the Ridgeway Ensemble.

Programme

Programme notes

Alexey Lebedev

Concert Allegro

When Alexei was beginning his work there were very few original compositions for tuba. He composed his Concerto No.1 (1947) and his Concert Allegro (1949), both for tuba and piano, as a student. They were published in 1950 and in 1956 and later republished several times.

Source: Wikipedia

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Six Studies in English Folk Song

1. Adagio (‘Lovely on the Water’)
2. Andante sostenuto (‘Spurn Point’)
3. Larghetto (‘Van Diemen’s Land’)
4. Lento (‘She Borrowed Some of Her Mother’s Gold’)
5. Andante tranquillo (‘The Lady and the Dragoon’)
6. Allegro vivace (‘As I walked over London Bridge’)

Six Studies in English Folk Song is a piece of chamber music written by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1926. It is a collection of six English folk songs set for cello and piano. Each song follows the same format: presentation of the tune in the solo line, followed by a full iteration of the folk song in the piano with an ornamented solo line.

Source: Wikipedia

Paul Hindemith

Sonata for Tuba and Piano

1. Allegro pesante
2. Allegro assai
3. Variationen

Composed in 1955, the Sonata for bass tuba and piano is the last in Hindemith’s series of ten sonatas for wind instruments. As in his Sonata for Double Bass and Piano, Hindemith “compensates for the weight of the instrument by giving the piano a part animated with unusual humour and harmonic interest”.

Source: Wikipedia

Robert Schumann

Drei Romanzen Op.94

1. Einfach, Innig

The Three Romances were originally written for Oboe and Piano, Op. 94. It was composed in December 1849. The work consists of three short pieces in A-B-A form, and it was written during what was speculated to be one of Schumann’s manic episodes. The second romance, which is in A Major, is primarily a traditional duet between the two instruments with a tense B section that changes tempo twice. It begins with a soft, straightforward oboe presence and a matching piano passage. The 1st tempo change introduces a more attacking and rugged theme. The last tempo change reintroduces the central theme until the end of the romance.

Source: Wikipedia

John Williams

Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra

To celebrate the centenary of the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1985, Williams was commissioned to compose the Tuba Concerto, dedicated to Chester Schmitz, the group’s solo tuba player. Premièred in May of that year with Williams on the podium, the concerto highlights the technical and tonal ranges of both the tuba and its performer. A fragment from the Superman theme can be heard in the first movement. In the words of soloist Simon Wildman, “I’ve always thought this concerto was like a long Superman étude. The writing really seems to suggest flying, action punches, and soul-searching at the fortress of solitude.

Source: Wikipedia