Rococo Variations   Steven Mead (euphonium) Whitburn Band

Conductor: Andy Duncan

Bocchino Music BOCC114

Any new Steven Mead CD excites high expectations and this latest doesn't disappoint.

Drawing heavily on classical repertoire with a little help from the arranging skills of Luc Vertommen, the transcriptions are thoughtfully interspersed and there are several original pieces from the pens of Goff Richards and Peter Graham, amongst others.  The choice of music places as much emphasis on the lyrical qualities of the instrument as it does on the stunning virtuosity of the soloist - all to compelling effect.

It's not simply  the technique that impresses, however.  In the case of Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme and Saint-Saens' Allegro Appassionato, both mainstays of the cello repertoire, it is Steven Mead's stylistic affinity with the music that it marks the playing out as truly special, whilst in Roger Derongé's Walking on Music and Goff Richards' Pilatus, the control and phrasing of the lyrical lines is a joy to behold.

For pyrotechnics, though, Bizet's Carmen Fantasy steals the show with playing from the soloist that, at times, almost beggars belief.

Although the acoustic is a touch and brittle, Andy Duncan and Whitburn band provide carefully judged accompaniment.

To quote the title of the David Gillingham piece, performed with such elegance, Steven Mead proves again that his is artistry and musicianship of a rare ‘vintage'.  It all makes for a disc not to be missed.

Christopher Thomas.

Brass band World magazine issue 190, December January 2010