Steven Mead can currently claim to be the leading maestro of the euphonium world in that he has already made over 20 solo CDs and he is always looking for good new material. Characteristically then, this album begins with two excellent pieces new to the instrument but originally written for the saxophone - Pequena Czarda by Pedro Iturralde and Aria by Eugene Bozza. The first exudes Spanish charm of the smooth romantic school (rather than the indigenous folk) with occasional outbursts of technical bravura, and the second is a seamless, melodic line that displays the soloist's rich-toned legato to perfection.

The title-track, Oration, by Howard Snell, is also new but specifically written for euphonium, and is a fairly short but expressive work in memorial of two friends. It takes the form of an ancient-style funeral oration where the soloist movingly declaims above a murmuring chorale-like accompaniment, thus creating an impressively elegiac mood. There is also a much happier piece that is new to the UK, and that is Bertrand Moren's Mr.Euphonium (composed for a Swiss colleague), which pleasantly demonstrates this instrument's facility in quick or arpeggio-style writing and its tonal beauty in high register.

The centre-piece of the programme, however, is not new, although certainly not yet over-familiar - Philip Wilby's Euphonium Concerto. This is very much a joint project between soloist and band and I enjoyed the manner in which the First and Third movements are taken at a more measured pace than usual in certain places; then the Greek Dance is as always tremendously exciting but shaped more imaginatively than it often is; and again in the Adagio a quite unusual expressive atmosphere prevails. A splendid interpretation from all concerned. A delightful discovery for me is Boccalari's charming and virtuosic Fantasia di Concerto (subtitled Sounds from the Riviera) which was written for one of Sousa's euphonium soloists. In addition, the disc contains two transcriptions from the classics:-1) a lovely account of Wagner's Prize Song from The Mastersingers, then 2) Rossini's Introduction Theme, and Variations for Clarinet where Steven's smooth dexterity dazzlingly matches the natural flexibility of the original instrument.

Vernon Briggs, Brass Band World , UK