Peter Graham’s superb works for brass band and orchestra have been widely recorded, and this new release from the incomparable Black Dyke Band follows on from his Metropolis 1927 album (8.573968) in which Fanfare noted that ‘the music sings, swoons, dances, pulsates, parties, and just has a good time overall. Graham’s brass writing is masterly.’ Peter Graham commands a thrillingly virtuosic and eclectic style that makes his music accessible to everyone, and there is no better ensemble than the legendary Black Dyke Band to put these premiere recordings on dazzling display.
Peter GRAHAM (b. 1958)
Force of Nature *
Triquetra * • Master of Suspense *
Hymn for Bram * • Hyperlink *
The Triumph of Time
David Childs, Euphonium • Rex Richardson, Trumpet, FlugelhornBlack Dyke Band • Nicholas Childs
* WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING
Winner of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association’s Ostwald Award for composition, Peter Graham is one of the leading brass band composers of his generation. Graham’s previous Naxos album with the Black Dyke Band, Metropolis 1927 (8.573968), received widespread acclaim from the brass band press. The five world premiere recordings heard on this album represent his long association with Black Dyke. The trumpet concerto Master of Suspense references Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic movies, the virtuoso euphonium concerto Force of Nature was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s extraordinary life, and The Triumph of Time is a dazzling example of compositional craft and brass band virtuosity.
III. Vivat
Winner of the 2008 Brass Herald International Personality of the Year Award, trumpeter and flugelhorn player Rex Richardson has made hundreds of solo appearances at prestigious festivals and with renowned ensembles on six continents. He has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2002, served as International Tutor in Trumpet at the UK's Royal Northern College of Music from 2012 to 2015, and given masterclasses at Austria’s JAM Music Lab University since 2018.
Euphonium player David Childs is regarded as one of the finest brass musicians of his generation. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout the UK and at numerous international festivals. A keen advocate of new music who has premiered ten concertos for euphonium, he is currently professor of euphonium at the University of North Texas and continues to enjoy an association with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama as an Honorary Associate and International Visiting Tutor.
Nicholas Childs is recognised internationally as a performer, teacher, conductor, interpreter and advocate of new music. His recordings with Black Dyke Band have been heralded as the very best in the brass band world, winning multiple CD of the Year awards. Committed to the training of outstanding young musicians, he is the founding director of the National Children’s Brass Band of Great Britain and currently serves as professor of music at the UK's Royal Northern College of Music and Tokyo's Senzoka Gakuen College of Music.
Black Dyke Band is held in the highest esteem throughout the worldwide brass band community and continues to win significant competitions under its music director, Nicholas Childs. It is the most recorded band in the world, with over 370 recordings, many of which have received CD of the Year awards. The band has appeared in major concert halls around the world, from New York to Tokyo, and has appeared at the BBC Proms. Its performing and recording schedule is among the busiest and most productive of any British brass band.
Anthems, Hymns and Gloria for Brass Band
arr. Luc Vertommen
Black Dyke Band
Sheffield Philharmonic Chorus • Childs • Battiwalla
– MusicWeb International
Metropolis 1927
On the Shoulders of Giants • Radio City • Meditation • Paramount Rhapsody • New York Movie
Gerrard • Cobb • Moore
Black Dyke Band • Childs
– Fanfare
– American Record Guide
Verdi • Bizet • Gershwin • Elgar • Brahms • Williams • Holst • Tchaikovsky • Walton
Black Dyke Band • Childs
– MusicWeb International
