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Analysis of Two Early Euphonium

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 FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF MUSIC

ANALYSIS OF TWO EARLY EUPHONIUM CONCERTOS, THEIR COMPOSERS,

AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE EUPHONIUM REPERTOIRE

By

PAUL DICKINSON

A Treatise submitted to the

2016
Paul Dickinson defended this treatise on April 11, 2016.
The members of the supervisory committee were:

Paul Ebbers
Professor Directing Treatise

Patrick Dunnigan
University Representative

John Drew
Committee Member

Christopher Moore
Committee Member

The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements.

ii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………...iv

CHAPTER ONE – JOSEPH HOROVITZ AND HIS EUPHONIUM CONCERTO OF 1972…...1

Early Life and Education………………………………………………………………….1

Career……………………………………………………………………………………...2

Joseph Horovitz’s Music…………………...………………....………………………......5

Modern Day……………………………………………………………………………….9

Historical Relevance……..................................................................................................10

Euphonium Concerto (1972)………..................................................................................11

Conclusion………….........................................................................................................13

CHAPTER TWO – JOHN GOLLAND AND HIS EUPHONIUM CONCERTO NO. 1 OF

1982................................................................................................................................................14

Early Life and Education…………………………………………………………...……14

Career….............................................................................................................................15

John Golland’s Music…………………………………………………………………....18

Later Years…………………….…………...……………………….……………………20

Euphonium Concerto No. 1 (1982)…………………………………………...………….22

Conclusion……………………….………...………………….………………...……….24

BIBLIOGRAPHY......……………………………………………………………………………25

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH……………………………......……………………………….......28

iii
 ABSTRACT

As a relatively young instrument, the euphonium’s solo repertoire lacks the depth

available for instruments such as the violin or piano. Even other instruments in the brass family

have repertoire composed by historically important musicians like Haydn and Mozart. Though

the euphonium began to enjoy recognition as a virtuosic solo instrument with bands in the early

20th century, a number of these solos were borrowed from other instruments and none were

concertos. Significant music written by prominent British composers specifically for euphonium

began to surface in the early 1970s, leading with Euphonium Concerto (1972) by Joseph

Horovitz and Fantasia (1973) by Gordon Jacob. John Golland followed soon after, writing his

Euphonium Concerto No. 1 in 1982.

The euphonium’s strength as a solo instrument grew because of its role in music written

numerous British composers through the mid-20th century, both in concert band and brass band

settings. Even in non-solo lines, composers often depended on the euphonium to supply a

virtuosic tenor voice in their writing. Some of these same composers eventually supplied some of

the first large-scale solo works for euphonium. Joseph Horovitz was among the first to write for

the euphonium as a solo instrument with the brass band. John Golland followed these traditions

in his own brass band compositions, and wrote two prominent euphonium concertos with brass

band accompaniment. He wrote each of his concertos in collusion with two of Britain’s most

prominent euphonium stars of the 1980s, the first with Robert Childs and the second with

Robert’s brother, Nicholas. The first Concerto strongly represented Golland’s own life, and

includes some of the most virtuosic solo writing in existence for euphonium. The perceived

limits of possibility challenged by Golland in this composition started a trend of increasingly

difficult requirements in subsequent euphonium works, eventually changing the assumed lyrical

iv
and technical limits for euphonium performers over time. Though the demands of range and

difficulty in later compositions expanded beyond Horovitz’s original writing, composers still

include direct references to his Euphonium Concerto in terms of style, structure, and closely-

related quotes of his music. A few of the more highly regarded new concertos from the past

twenty years were composed by the next generation of brass band composers who were taught

by Horovitz, extending his influence even deeper into the euphonium repertoire.

This treatise focuses on two early euphonium concertos and the lives of the composers

who created them. Joseph Horovitz and his Euphonium Concerto (1972), which is recognized as

the first concerto written specifically for the euphonium, will constitute the first chapter. The

second chapter centers on John Golland and his Euphonium Concerto No. 1 (1982). Each

composer’s personal history will be the first portion of each chapter, but their compositional

idiom will also be examined using other selections from their respective bodies of music. Finally,

each chapter will briefly assess the role of these pieces and their composers in the overall

development of the euphonium concerto, especially in relation to British brass band music.

The body of this treatise came from books, periodicals, radio interviews, notes by the

composers and publishers, and personal accounts from friends and colleagues close to the

composers. Recordings and scores of the two concertos were analyzed alongside recordings and

scores of other works by these composers to draw conclusions regarding the each composer’s

general style of writing. In the case of Horovitz, his students and their work were also examined

in order to gauge that aspect of his continuing influence on the brass band world. The end result

gathered from these sources formed a biography of each composer which also addresses their

music and influence on the early development of the euphonium repertoire.

v
 CHAPTER ONE

JOSEPH HOROVITZ AND HIS EUPHONIUM CONCERTO OF 1972

The Euphonium Concerto by Joseph Horovitz (b. 1926) holds prominence as not only

being the first concerto written specifically for the euphonium and brass band, but also for being

among the first euphonium concertos of any type. 1 Due to its historical relevance and musical

quality, the Concerto has remained among one of the most widely performed pieces in the

euphonium repertoire among young, intermediate-level performers, and is still often featured as a

staple of the repertoire on suggested solo lists and competition requirements around the world. 2

Early Life and Education

Joseph Horovitz was born in Vienna, Austria in 1926, in the brief span of peaceful years

between the two World Wars. 3 As Jews, his family began to watch with growing apprehension

the emergence of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party with their virulent hatred and racism. Within a

decade, their fears manifested themselves as the Nazis took control of Austria. On the day that

they forced the Prime Minister of Austria to abdicate and the country fell to the Nazis,

Horovitz’s parents were away on a business trip. Horovitz, one of his sisters, one of his

grandmothers, his aunt, and his infant cousin all fled south together into Italy to escape the

regime change before the borders could be closed. Some of his other family members remained

trapped in Vienna for a time. His whole family eventually journeyed from their various locations

to reassemble at one of his aunt’s apartments in Belgium. From there, Horovitz and his father

traveled onward to England, where they arrived on May 1, 1938 as Jewish refugees.

1
Bone, Lloyd E., Eric Paull, and R. Winston. Morris. Guide To the Euphonium Repertoire:
The Euphonium Source Book. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2007: 127.
2
“John Golland.” Brass Band Results. Tim Sawyer, n.d. Accessed November 3, 2015.
https://brassbandresults.co.uk/composers/Golland-golland/.
3
Bone, 465.
1
 Once settled in England, he began to attend Regent’s Park School. The education system

at Regent’s Park specifically catered to immigrant and refugee children, and focused on

preparing these children to live as English citizens. Within months, the children regularly

participated in traditional English sports, like Cricket, and other social activities which were

standard for English schoolchildren at the time. The war soon spread to Britain’s shores, and he

and his family fled once more as the Luftwaffe began their merciless bombing routines on

England’s cities. They moved to Oxford to escape the worst of the attacks, and Horovitz finished

the majority of his education at New College, Oxford.

While working towards his degrees in music there, he began to approach the age at which

young men in Britain were often asked to enlist to help the war effort. He was classified as an

“Enemy Alien,” though, which limited the options to mining or munitions work. Upon being

made aware of the situation, Oxford’s professor of music, Sir Hugh Allen, made a phone call on

his behalf. As a result, Horovitz was diverted into the Army Education Corps. He served as a

music appreciation lecturer for some of the armed forces camps and gave piano recitals for the

soldiers. Once he completed his Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts degrees, he moved on to

study composition with the already-famous Gordon Jacob at the Royal College of Music (RCM)

in London. His talents were recognized during this post-graduate work, and he was also fortunate

enough in 1949 to study with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. 4

Career

During his time with Boulanger in Paris, Horovitz received a telegram from Sir George

Dyson, director of the RCM at that time, offering him his first major job appointment. Horovitz

accepted the job, and left to become the music director for the Old Vic theater in Bristol. For the
4
Wiseman, Debbie. Composer Joseph Horovitz: No Ordinary Joe. BBC4 Radio. 26 July
2011. BBC. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.

2
1950 and 1951 seasons, he was completely responsible for writing, arranging, and conducting all

of the music for the theater. He was ready to move on, and transitioned into ballet work starting

with the Festival of Britain in the summer of 1951. He acted as conductor to the Ballet Russes

and several other groups during the Festival. 5

For the rest of the 1950s, Horovitz worked in several career-defining positions. He

became the Associate Director of the Intimate Opera Company from 1952-63, worked with the

Glyndebourne Opera starting in 1956, and even served as a guest composer at the Tanglewood

Festival in the United States. He also began to tour across Britain and Europe and conducted

several prominent London-based orchestras. In 1958, Horovitz began to delve deeper into the

world of commercial music, writing scores for television shows and advertisements. He claims

he fears these forays into the popular music scene may have slightly undermined his reputation

as a serious composer, for his name became associated with lighter music and humor rather than

retaining his status as a noteworthy artist. 6 In spite of these lingering fears, he received two Ivor

Novello Awards. The first came for Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo, a child’s play, in 1975.

The second award resulted from his music for the television show “Lillie” in 1978. His work

with televised programs became quite extensive across the span of his career, and Horovitz has

worked with over 70 different television productions or series to-date. 7

In 1961, Horovitz received an offer to join the faculty at the Royal College of Music

teaching composition and analysis. This proved to be a very important step for him, as it marked

the beginning of a change into a more established, settled career path. It also connected him with

new circles of musicians for whom he began to write. This professorship put him in a prominent

5
Bone, 465.
6
Wiseman.
7
"Joseph Horovitz." BASCA British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors.
BASCA, 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
3
role for composition in Britain, and he influenced dozens of later composers through his

teaching. 8 He still holds this post to date, and he was successful enough to be made a fellow of

the college. 9 His influence and success led to his selection as an executive council member for

the Performing Right Society from 1969-1996, and he also became President of CISAC’s

International Council of Composers and Authors of Music from 1981-1989. 10

Apart from his work in commercial music, Joseph Horovitz has composed dozens of

works in many different genres. He has written sixteen ballets, two one-act operas, and several

works for orchestra. He also composed a total of nine concertos, several brass and wind band

works, five string quartets, chamber music pieces for various instruments, and choral works

including a cantata and an oratorio. 11 Though his most successful early musical ventures were

for ballet and stage plays, he gradually developed increasing numbers of large scale ensemble

works and concertos as his career progressed. This reflects the change of his career into more

traditionally venerated musical genres as he began to establish himself as a more respectable

composer than he perceived he had become. It also indicates the musical communities with

whom he became popular. The British brass band movement in particular began to take an

interest in Horovitz in the late 1960s. This interest led to him being called upon to write several

highly-regarded works for brass band, and also solo concertos for instruments within the brass

band family to be featured with the bands as accompaniment. 12

8
Bone.
9
"Joseph Horovitz." Royal College of Music: Staff Listing. Royal College of Music in
London, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
10
Bone.
11
Ibid.
12
"Joseph Horovitz." Music Sales Classical. The Music Sales Group, 2014. Web. 26 Jan.
2016.
4
Joseph Horovitz’s Music

Joseph Horovitz’s compositional style tends to maintain certain parameters in terms of

content, character, and style, regardless of genre or intent. He is an exceedingly intelligent and

meticulous man, especially musically, and typically creates motifs based on specific ideas that he

then develops extensively throughout each movement or section of a piece. These motifs may

change in nature depending on the setting in which they are employed, but this general trend

remains true in a large number of his compositions in spite of tempo, mood, or character. If

accompanied by specific text, the motifs may also represent the words in some way. 13

As for compositional structure, his writing often imitates more traditional configurations

such as the sonata form. He barely writes within these conventional archetypes, not remaining

glued to their strict mandates regarding repetition and imitation. One of his strengths as a

composer lies in his ability to create a melodic idea and develop it into a complex piece. In spite

of his Viennese heritage, he never truly embraced the ideals of the Second Viennese School as

established by Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg, preferring instead a balance of dissonance with

consonance within more recognizably conventional assemblies. 14

This research focuses on four of Joseph Horovitz’s pieces. Captain Noah and His

Floating Zoo is very commonly performed, and has been transcribed for numerous vocal groups

and ensembles. Ballet for Band has regularly appeared on brass band contest lists and concerts

since its origin in 1983. Horovitz’s Tuba Concerto demonstrates his solo brass writing with brass

band accompaniment for an instrument comparable to the euphonium. His Clarinet Sonatina

13
Wiseman.
14
Gourlay, James. "John Golland and His Music." E-mail interview. 20 Feb. 2016.
5
shows how he writes for a solo woodwind instrument with piano accompaniment, and is very

often included on recordings by clarinet artists from around the world. 15

The aforementioned Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo, originally written in 1970,

quickly won critical acclaim as a children’s cantata. Horovitz created the music, which was

joined with a libretto by Michael Flanders. The plot drew from the tale of Noah and his ark

found in the Biblical book of Genesis, chapters six through nine. The cantata originally featured

unison or two-part vocal lines with piano, and had the option for further bass and percussion

accompaniment. The work easily conforms to numerous adaptations, and may include various

extra percussion instruments or voicings to great effect. Its versatility led to its eventual

recording in 1972 by the King’s Singers, an internationally acclaimed all-male British a cappella

vocal ensemble. The piece still enjoys regular live performances, including six separate

performances in the first half of 2016 alone, and resides among Horovitz’s most widely

recognizable works. 16 According to a radio interview with Debbie Wiseman in early 2011, it has

a special place in Horovitz’s mind, and he considers significant portions of it to be the sort of

music by which he believes his style should be defined. Within the cantata, Horovitz matched

lyrical plot points with musical symbolism. One such moment appears in the finale, where he

wrote continuous groups of two notes beneath the repeated text “two-by-two-by-two-by-two-by-

two.” This text refers to the animal pairings boarding Noah’s ark to escape the storm. 17

In 1983, Joseph Horovitz wrote his Ballet for Band. He originally wrote Ballet on

commission as a test piece for the championship round of that year’s National Brass Band

competitions at the Royal Albert Hall. He describes the work as accompanying an imaginary

15
“Joseph Horovitz.” Music Sales Classical.
16
Ibid.
17
Wiseman.
6
ballet, the plot of which he never describes. He prefers to leave the onus of imagining the

choreography and plotline on the listeners. When asked about his original concept of the story

behind the music, he actually grew slightly embarrassed and refused to disclose his

inspirations. 18 In spite of Horovitz’s slightly more programmatic inspiration for this piece, Ballet

for Band still develops based around a central theme. It is originally presented in the opening

fanfare, but is present in various forms throughout the piece before reappearing more blatantly in

the finale. Structurally, Horovitz still arranged the piece in three major sections, sandwiching a

lyrical central portion between two quicker, more upbeat movements. 19 Ballet for Band’s

popularity continued across the subsequent decades, and it still enjoys regular performances each

year by some of Europe’s preeminent brass bands. It has also been recorded several times by

notable brass bands from Europe and Asia, including the GUS Band, the Cory Band, the Sun

Life Band, and others. Horovitz personally conducted the Brass Band Berner Oberland on their

recording of the piece. 20 The Co-Operative Funeralcare Band recorded an entire CD dedicated to

the music of Joseph Horovitz in 1994, and included famous soloists Steven Mead and James

Gourlay for two of the featured concertos. 21

After the continuing success of his Euphonium Concerto and other brass band pieces,

Horovitz received a request from the Besses o’ the Barn Band in 1989 to write his Tuba

Concerto for tuba virtuoso James Gourlay. He responded by writing an approximately twenty-

one minute long, three movement work for tuba which showcases the talents of the performer in

such an orchestration that he or she can avoid being overpowered by the supporting ensemble

with minimal effort. After a time, Dr. Gourlay asked permission from Horovitz to transcribe the

18
Gourlay.
19
Horovitz, Joseph. Ballet for Band. Watford, Herts: R. Smith, 1983. Print.
20
“Joseph Horovitz.” Music Sales Classical.
21
The Co-Operative Funeralcare Band. Joseph Horovitz - Music for Brass. 1994. CD.
7
accompaniment parts into wind orchestra setting. Horovitz agreed, but with the condition that all

of the new music be passed by him for proofreading and approval. Each section of the

transcription was then mailed back to James covered in red pencil marks editing details as small

as the placement of bar lines and the size of clefs. Though the two had met earlier at the Royal

College of Music in 1974, when James passed through as a student, this exchange made him

realize just how painstakingly exact his former professor was about composition. Joseph

Horovitz’s meticulous nature demanded absolute perfection in the details his music. True to his

typical style and structure choices, Horovitz once again chooses specific themes for each

movement of the piece and develops them thoroughly within each section of the three-movement

framework. 22

Joseph Horovitz’s Clarinet Sonatina from 1981 also warranted mention as one of his

favorites during his radio interview with Debbie Wiseman in 2011. Another very characteristic

example of Horovitz’s musical writing, the Sonatina, is a traditional three-movement work with

exhaustive yet creative expansion on specific central motifs. He wrote each movement in a

classical form, using sonata form, A-B-A, and rondo structures for movements one, two, and

three respectively. 23 Horovitz claimed he was particularly fond of the lyrical second movement,

in which the simplistic piano accompaniment underscores a slow-moving, plaintive melody. 24

Horovitz wrote the piece at the behest of Gervase de Peyer and Gwenneth Pryor, a well-known

clarinet and piano duo at the time. 25 He agreed, and completed the piece in the first few months

of 1981. Pryor and de Peyer premiered the Sonatina at Wigmore Hall, London on May 12 of that

22
Gourlay.
23
Horovitz, Joseph. Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano. Borough Green: Novello, 1982.
24
Wiseman.
25
"Biography." Gervase De Peyer. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
8
year. Over the years since its inception, numerous clarinetists from around the world have chosen

to include Sonatina in recording projects. 26

Modern Day

Currently, Joseph Horovitz lives in Notting Hill with his wife, Anna, whom he married in

1956 near the beginning of his career. 27 He has received numerous awards for his music in

several genres, including the Commonwealth Medal for Composition in 1959, the Gold Order of

Merit by the city of Vienna in 1996, the Nino Rota Prize of Italy in 2002, and other prestigious

honors and research grants. He continues to teach at the Royal College of Music. 28 His music is

regularly performed both in Britain and across the world, and he continues to receive recognition

from the brass band community in particular. In January of 2016, the Royal Northern College of

Music honored him and his many accomplishments at their annual Brass Band Festival by

performing at least one of his works in almost every performance. He also made several speaking

appearances across the weekend. In spite of having already passed his ninetieth birthday,

Horovitz still manages to impress with his sharp wit, insightful mind, and genuine warmth. 29

During the past twenty years, Horovitz has stopped composing as much as he once did.

Some of his students have begun to fill the vacuum created by his absence. One student in

particular, Martin Ellerby, brought himself to the attention of euphoniumists across the world in

the mid-1990s by writing his own Euphonium Concerto. Though it contains a slightly

unorthodox four movements rather than the traditional three so typically embraced by his former

teacher, Ellerby still added a strong reference to Horovitz at the end of his lyrical movement.

26
“Joseph Horovitz.” Music Sales Classical.
27
Ruedi, Thomas. “Joseph Horovitz.” E-mail interview. 29 Jan. 2016.
28
“Joseph Horovitz.” BASCA.
29
"2016 RNCM Brass Band Festival." RNCM. Royal North College of Music, 2015. Web.
26 Jan. 2016.
9
Much as Horovitz finishes his Concerto’s lyrical second movement with a series of repeated

pitches on concert A in the solo voice, Ellerby ends his with repeated pitches on concert D. He

does not continue these notes for as long as his professor dared to, ending them after

approximately twenty seconds rather than prolonging them for nearly a full minute. 30

Historical Relevance

Prominent euphonium soloist Trevor Groom premiered Horovitz’s Euphonium Concerto

with the G.U.S. Footwear Band on October 14, 1972 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The

original commission came from the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, who

requested the piece from Horovitz. 31 It stands out as one of the first concertos ever written

specifically for euphonium, and it is certainly the first significant solo euphonium concerto

intended for performance with brass band accompaniment. 32 A few serious pieces for euphonium

with orchestral accompaniment began to appear in the American repertoire starting over twenty

years prior, leading with Alan Hovhaness’s Concerto No. 3, “Diran, the Religious Singer” in

1962. 33 This piece was followed by Rule Beasley’s Concerto in 1967, also written with

orchestral accompaniment. 34 Neither of these two pieces retained status in the higher echelons of

the euphonium repertoire.

The only other significant pieces for euphonium were either written for another

instrument originally, like Ponchielli’s Concerto per flicorno basso, or were not concertos. 35

Other Americans began writing serious art music for the euphonium in the 1960s. Nicholas

Falcone’s Mazurka for Unaccompanied Euphonium joined the repertoire in 1964, and Donald

30
Ellerby, Martin. Euphonium Concerto. London: Studio Music, 1997. Print.
31
Horovitz, Joseph. Euphonium Concerto. London: Novello, 1991. Print.
32
Bone, 127.
33
Ibid, 145.
34
Ibid, 140.
35
Ibid, 107.
10
White penned his Lyric Suite in 1972. 36 37 Despite their relevance, none of these works match the

melodic or structural quality of Horovitz’s Euphonium Concerto.

In the years after the premier of Horovitz’s work, the euphonium became more popular

among brass composers and the euphonium repertoire gained several significant new pieces. One

of Horovitz’s former teachers-turned-colleague, Gordon Jacob, wrote his Fantasia in 1973, and

Fred Clinard’s Sonata for Unaccompanied Euphonium joined the collection in 1978. 38 39 Over

the next few decades, the euphonium repertoire continued to increase exponentially in size,

quality, and difficulty. Joseph Horovitz’s Concerto helped establish a new standard for the

euphonium’s consideration as a legitimate solo instrument, and the resulting additions of new

repertoire continue to the present day.

Euphonium Concerto (1972)

The basic structure of Horovitz’s Euphonium Concerto follows all of his standard rules. It

contains three movements: Moderato, Lento, and Con moto, which the composer describes as

representing the head, the heart, and the toes, respectively. Horovitz’s precise nature makes itself

apparent from the very first phrase, where each note is indicated with specific commands for

articulation and phrasing. This attention to detail continues throughout the piece, and requires

that close attention be paid by the performer to Horovitz’s desired results. He intensively

develops the themes of each movement, altering the original until it becomes little more than a

distant cousin of its first form at times, then returning it to an almost exact restatement or

inversion of the initial statement.

36
Ibid, 200.
37
Ibid, 72.
38
Ibid, 102.
39
Ibid, 198.
11
 The first movement contains an exposition followed by a loose A-B-A format, and

finishes with a coda section which recalls elements of the opening before ending with a quick

sixteenth-note passage into the high range of the instrument. The second movement, often

considered one of the most beautiful lyrical melodies in the euphonium repertoire, also follows a

loose A-B-A’ form, with a development section and cadenzas included between B and A’. It

ends with almost a full minute of consecutive, occasionally rearticulated concert A pitches over

slowly-moving chords. While on tour in the mid-1990s, Horovitz confided that he disapproved

of the indicated tempo for this movement, believing it to be too slow. He asked the soloist on

tour with him, Thomas Ruedi, to perform the euphonium entrance at 90 beats per minute (BPM)

in the eighth-note pulse rather than the published 76 BPM. 40

The final movement demonstrates a modified rondo form, gradually increasing the speed

and intricacy of the notes each time the new variations are introduced. Due to the dexterous

nature of this movement, younger students often must forgo learning it alongside the first two .

The technical content is much more difficult than the preceding movements, leading the

performer through increasingly intricate lines of sextuplets. Until the performer has developed

their multiple articulations and finger dexterity to high levels of competency, they should not

attempt to perform the third movement of the Concerto. After all of these technical challenges,

the movement concludes with a last statement of the first theme before going through

accelerating whole-tone variations and closing the piece. 41 Horovitz once again did not

wholeheartedly approve of how the piece sounded when performed strictly by the published

40
Ruedi.
41
Horovitz, Euphonium Concerto.
12
markings, and many variations in tempos and dynamics have been attempted in order to find a

more satisfying way to draw the entire work to a close. 42

Conclusion

Joseph Horovitz has a unique place in the brass band world and filled a vital role in the

development of the euphonium. The competition commission asked him for a new solo work,

and Horovitz answered their request with a piece that still has a place as an outstanding part of

the repertoire not only due to its historical relevance, but also because of its musical quality. As a

composer, his contributions to the brass band movement are undeniable, and his music is still

regularly performed by brass bands of all levels in competitions around the world. 43 As an

educator, he directly influenced students such as Martin Ellerby who have now begun adding

their own music to the brass band and euphonium repertoires.

Horovitz’s Euphonium Concerto established a high standard of quality for the euphonium

solo repertoire. Its arrival marked the beginning of significant changes in the general perception

of the euphonium’s abilities. Rather than continuing to function only as an ensemble member,

this piece proved to the musical world that the euphonium merits individual respect as a solo

instrument as well. This new spotlight directed at the euphonium by Horovitz’s Concerto

sparked new expansion of the instrument’s role. The euphonium repertoire now features quality

literature by composers from around the world, and brass band composers often favor the

euphonium as a tenor solo voice.

42
Ruedi.
43
“Joseph Horovitz.” Music Sales Classical.
13
 CHAPTER TWO

JOHN GOLLAND AND HIS EUPHONIUM CONCERTO NO. 1 OF 1982

John Golland (1942-1993) worked in the brass band world during the 1970s and 1980s as

a composer and conductor of numerous bands from across Britain, touring extensively across

Europe with some of these same groups. Elements of his biography and general contributions

still exist in scattered records across the world, but documentation of his legacy has been left

incomplete. In recent years, a few members of the brass band world have begun telling his story

and recording his music, but the movement remains largely unfinished and John Golland’s life

lives on primarily in the memories of those who knew him or worked with him personally.

Golland’s Euphonium Concerto No. 1 holds a place as an influential early addition to the

euphonium’s solo repertoire, and it was premiered by Robert Childs and the Grimethorpe

Colliery Band in 1982. 44

Early Life and Education

John Golland was born on September 13, 1942 to John Sr. and Anne Golland of Ashton-

Under-Lyne near Manchester, England. It was a difficult birth, and this led to numerous physical

complications that plagued Golland through his young life. John Golland Sr. worked in a local

factory as the family’s primary source of income at the time and World War II in Europe

continued until mid-1945, so the family survived on a relatively meager income during Golland’s

early childhood. When he was only 2 years old, his parents found him playing simple nursery

rhymes by ear on his grandmother’s piano. Impressed by his precocious musical ability, they

saved their money and were able to buy their own piano by the time he was 4 years old. Golland

began studying music with a local instructor named Peggy Mayers outside of his normal school

44
Golland, John. Euphonium Concerto No. 1. London: Chester Music, 1984. Print: 124.
14
classes soon after. He attended St Mary’s Catholic Primary School until age eleven, when he

earned a scholarship to attend the de la Salle College in Salford. 45 De la Salle maintained a

reputation for high quality at the time, and catered primarily to the boys of more economically

affluent families than the Gollands. As a result, Golland never fit in well with the other students.

His ongoing physical issues also prevented him from participating in sports with the other boys,

making him even more of a “social outcast.” 46

John Golland proved to be an intelligent young man, and he began studying piano, violin,

and recorder with the school’s music master. By the end of his time at de la Salle, he had begun

to arrange hymns and compose short pieces for school functions. Around his eighteenth birthday,

he began to attend teacher training with Manchester University’s College of Education. In

addition to his coursework there, he also attended the Royal Manchester College of Music

(RCM) part-time to continue his musical development. While at the RCM, he studied primarily

with Marjorie Clemans on the piano and with Thomas Pitfield for composition. 47 Pitfield made a

particular connection with Golland, as Pitfield also emerged from an exceedingly difficult

childhood of adversity to become a successful composer. 48

Career

John Golland secured his first job in 1964, becoming the music teacher at St. Anselm’s

School in Oldham. In his free time, he began playing with the Stalybridge brass band, which had

an opening in their euphonium section. This opportunity piqued his interest in the euphonium,

and he learned the instrument’s capabilities and limitations firsthand while teaching himself the

instrument. It also gave him his first significant personal experience with the brass band world

45
Bone, 461.
46
Higginbottom, Gordon. “Discussing John Golland.” Telephone interview. 2 Nov. 2015.
47
Bone, 461.
48
Turner, John. "Thomas Baron Pitfield." Musical Times Spring 2000: Print.
15
that would eventually dominate a majority of his career. He went on to become the conductor of

the Boarshurst Band, and also served as the music director of the West Hill Band and Choir.

Once he won the director’s position with the Adamson Military Band in 1970, he gave up full-

time teaching and began to immerse himself deeper in the brass band community. 49

After 1970, the primary focus of John Golland’s musical career had shifted to his new

goal of being a full-time brass band composer and conductor. He was so singularly focused that

he actually turned down a full-time teaching position that Roy Newsome offered him at Salford

College. At the time, few positions of that type existed in Britain. The colleges would have

numerous part-time or adjunct teachers, which Golland eventually became, but only a couple of

full professorships. He shocked his colleagues when he refused Newsome’s offer, especially

considering the clout Newsome held within the brass band community. Against the urgings of

many of his friends, Golland had decided he was going to take the music director job with the

Fodens Band instead. True to the warnings of his friends, he was not a good fit for the Fodens

position and did not remain with the band for very long. 50

He went on to conduct a number of lower-division brass bands through the years,

including Walkden, Boarshurst, Spillers, Irlam, City of Chester, Dobcross, and the W. Harrison

Transport Rockingham Band. 51 The highlight of his career was his time in the upper division,

including his brief tenure with the Fodens band and his extensive touring with the James

Shepherd Versatile Brass (JSVB), also known as the Versatile Brass. The JSVB was a 10-person

group featuring some of the top brass talent in Britain at the time on each instrument, and they

introduced new ideas into the world of brass ensemble performance, ideas which went on to fuel

49
Bone.
50
Higginbottom.
51
Bone.
16
later groups such as Mnozil Brass. The JSVB often signed composers and conductors to tour

with them for short spans of time, and in return would feature their music as part of the concerts.

John Golland first encountered the group in 1972, when he was brought in to fill this

conductor/composer role. They toured extensively across Europe, especially into Switzerland,

and Golland served with them intermittently for several years, one of the longest tenures of any

person in that position. Occasionally, the JSVB featured him performing piano works during

concerts as well since he still maintained his keyboarding skills. One of the highlights of

Golland’s entire career occurred during his time with the JSVB, when he conducted the group

performing his own music at a National Gala Concert in Royal Albert Hall. Having this

camaraderie and structure helped Golland develop not only as a musician, but also as a person,

and he maintained some of those close friendships until his death in 1993. 52

Thanks to his time with the JSVB, the brass band world recognized Golland’s name well

enough that he began to be hired as an adjudicator at divisional brass band contests starting in

1976. These engagements were intermittent, and he was never asked to adjudicate the more

serious competitions. 53 Golland continued to write dozens of new works and arrangements for

brass band, small ensembles, and solo instruments. Golland also wrote a children’s opera titled

The Selfish Giant. The British television sitcom Dear Ladies contracted him to write their music,

but the commercial music genre never captured his attention in the same way that brass band

music had. His primary income continued to be from his work as a music teacher in local

schools. 54

52
Higginbottom.
53
Ibid.
54
Bone.
17
 Golland wrote dozens of works for full brass band, medium brass ensembles, and other

performance groups. His arrangement of Chanson Trevaux was originally written for the JSVB

as they toured in Switzerland. A group of women from the village the ensemble was visiting at

the time sang this traditional melody to the band at the conclusion of a concert one evening. It so

moved the group that, within a week, Golland completed writing their own version for

performance across the rest of the tour. 55 Meiso, which translates loosely to “contemplation,” is

among the latest of his works for full brass band. He specifically composed Meiso for the Black

Dyke Mills Band’s groundbreaking 1990 tour of Japan. 56 Several of his works for full brass band

have been regularly featured in premiere brass band competitions since 1993, and in other brass

band concerts all over the world. 57

John Golland’s Music

John Golland’s intellectualism shows within his compositions in several different ways.

One of Golland’s strongest musical talents lies in his ability to create melodies that are simple,

yet beautiful and very elegant. His work Peace embodies the unpretentious beauty of his melodic

writing perfectly. He wrote this work for his cousin’s wedding in 1977, and combines the

modesty of a hymn with the lyrical attractiveness of traditional brass band tunes. 58 Golland’s

faster music often includes bright, jazzy textures with mixed meters and off-beat rhythmic

figures. His chords often include dissonances and thick textures reminiscent of jazz sounds as

well, but he is not actually a jazz musician. In spite of the similarities his music often shares with

jazz, he drew these sounds from other brass band music that was popular at the time. His link to

these jazz elements primarily stemmed from his brass band roots, not from any direct ties he may

55
Higginbottom.
56
"MEISO." Just Music Brass Band. Just Music, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
57
“John Golland.” Brass Band Results. Tim Sawyer, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
58
"Peace." Hallamshire Music. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
18
or may not have had to jazz composition. Golland was also known for exhaustively developing

the thematic materials in his music, bringing back the same distinct motifs repetitively in slightly

different scenarios. In this way, his writing maintains a story-like quality that focuses on the

development of specific ideas in the music, deepening its connection with the audience once they

became familiar with the different themes. 59

Like many intellectual people, Golland loved puzzles. In pieces written for a specific

person or event close to him, he often included cryptic notation. Rhapsody No. 1 for Tenor Horn

and Band (Op. 71), written for his friend Gordon Higginbottom, includes this notation. Golland

met Gordon during his tenure with the JSVB, with whom Gordon performed on the tenor horn.

The two became close, and their friendship continued even after Golland’s time with the JSVB

finished. He wrote the Rhapsody to celebrate Gordon and his wife Sylvia’s twenty-fifth wedding

anniversary.

Golland preferred to use a relatively simple cypher. The musical alphabet only has seven

letters: ABCDEFG. Not many words or names use only those seven letters, so in order to use the

rest of the alphabet Golland simply imitates the piano keyboard and repeats the musical alphabet,

equating each subsequent letter after G with the next repeating letter of the musical alphabet. So,

the letter H equals the musical note A, I = B, J = C, and so the pattern continues, returning to the

beginning of the musical alphabet each time the normal alphabet exceeds the number of possible

note names. 60

At the musical peak of the Rhapsody, Golland included his coded melody clearly just

under rehearsal mark G, Tempo Allegro. The tenor horn has an ornamented triplet figure centered

on E, followed by D-sharp, E, A, B, A, and a final E. In this case, he is spelling out the name of

59
Higginbottom.
60
Ibid.
19
Gordon’s wife, Sylvia. E-D-E-A-B-A represents S-Y-L-V-I-A. The final E, which equals the

letter S, may or may not have been intended as a possessive addendum to indicate the

composition’s dedication to her and her husband. Gordon received less recognition, because his

longer name did not fit into Golland’s plan for the melody. He got some recognition in a brief

statement made during the opening measures of the piece. Golland opens the Rhapsody with G-

B. Since the German notation for third-line B is written as an H, this was his way of including

Gordon Higginbottom’s initials in the piece: G-H. 61

Later Years

Starting in the mid-1980s, Golland’s life went through several downturns. In spite of all

his professional successes, he still struggled with being accepted socially by many of his

colleagues, and never achieved recognition as being one of the brass band elite. He had to be

hospitalized during a tour of Switzerland, and eventually received a terminal diagnosis. He

withdrew from many of his professional obligations outside of composition and returned home to

stay with his parents for the last few years. He set himself a final goal of composing a sonata for

each of the brass band wind instruments, but it proved too much for him for him to achieve in the

time he had left. He completed one sonata for tenor horn, dedicated again to his dear friend

Gordon. His second attempt, Rhapsody No. 2 for Baritone Horn, remained unfinished and was

later completed by his long-time friend and colleague, Roy Newsome, with whom relations had

improved since Golland’s earlier rejection of the Salford professorship.

Upon completion of the Sonata for Tenor Horn, Gordon and Golland met at the local

college one last time to record it. Higginbottom preserved the full recording of their final

performance together. The writing in the second movement shows Golland’s frustration and

61
Golland, John. Rhapsody No. 1 for Eb Horn. Studio Music, 1986.
20
despair as he faced his impending death. The final movement of the piece ends calmly, yet

without a resolution in the accompaniment, sustaining the final chord into silence as though

leaving the piece incomplete. 62

John Golland died on April 14, 1993 in Dukinfield, leaving behind his mother and father,

and several very dear friends. 63 A plaque was later installed at the urging of his mother, Anne, on

the wall of the Dukinfield Town Hall in honor of his contributions to the British brass band

world. 64 As is true for many composers through history, Golland’s music only began to gain

widespread use and popularity after his death. Within a decade, the Childs family completed a

CD project with some of his most prominent works. Golland had written two concertos and other

brass band works for Robert and Nicholas Childs, and also worked with their father John Childs.

The Childs family continued to spearhead memorial concerts from time to time in John

Golland’s honor. 65 In addition to these concerts, they and others at the Royal Northern College

of Music in Manchester began a competition for new brass band compositions in 2009 titled the

John Golland Award. The competition is now part of the school’s annual brass band festival to

encourage more young composers to step forward and continue the work that had been the

passion of Golland’s life. 66

62
Higginbottom.
63
Bone.
64
“A Tribute To John Golland.” Tameside MBC News. Tameside Metropolitan Borough,
September 12, 2007. Last modified September 12, 2007. Accessed November 7, 2015.
http://www.tameside.gov.uk/blueplaque/johngolland.
65
Fox, Iwan. "The Music of John Golland." DavidChilds.com. 4BarsRest.com, 29 Jan. 2005.
Web. 3 Nov. 2015.
66
"2016 RNCM Brass Band Festival." RNCM. Royal North College of Music, 2015. Web.
26 Jan. 2016.
21
Euphonium Concerto No. 1 (1982)

John Golland composed his Euphonium Concerto No. 1 in 1981 after hearing the famous

Childs Brothers perform, and wrote it with Robert Childs specifically. Robert premiered the

piece with the Grimethorpe-Colliery Band as part of the Perth Festival in Western Australia

during March of 1982. It was an immediate success across the brass band community, bolstered

by Robert’s virtuosic playing and musicality. Though he initially created the piece for Robert,

Golland wrote the piece as a musical autobiography and dedicated it to his parents. Returning to

Golland’s foibles, the notes within the title theme of the piece spells out his name. The primary

theme that opens the piece includes the notes C-A-A-G G-A-E-E-A-G-D, which equals J-O-H-N

G-O-L-L-A-N-D using Golland’s usual cypher. Descending chromatic groups of three notes

follow the opening statement. These groupings return as a theme later in the piece, as do the

descending eighth notes in the third measure which leap downward from the tonic pitch to the

dominant across several octaves. Golland then strongly states his name again, only this time in a

minor tone with A-flats and E-flats. The added accidentals do not affect his cypher.

This piece tells Golland’s story as seen from his own perspective in the early 1980s. He

believed himself to be a strong, positive young man, and a talented musician. Physical problems

plagued him persistently through his young life, though, and he had also experienced emotional

isolation and social exclusion. Throughout the first movement, these positive and negative

aspects of his life conflict with one another through his use of major and minor motifs, giving the

piece a variety of emotions and ideas that all still employ the same few motivic themes.

Structurally, the first movement includes multiple-sectioned cadenzas and lyrical interjections

which mirror these same internal questions and struggles. Within one of these cadenzas, the solo

line ascends to a brief E-flat in the super range. Finally, the solo line makes a final statement

22
before the accompaniment enters into a minor descent and finishes with a motif that simulates

the sound of a heartbeat. This heartbeat motif reappears within each movement of the piece.

The lyrical inner movement uses a 5/8 meter and numerous hemiolas, which make the

pulse complicated in spite of the simpler tonality of the harmonies. A 3/4 measure occasionally

appears, giving a sense of metric stability before the line returns to the imbalanced 5/8 time.

After becoming more declamatory at the peak of the movement in a faster 3/8 meter, Golland

finishes the movement with a cadenza and an accompaniment line that fades almost down to

nothing before directly entering the third movement.

The final movement mixes meters between 2/4 and 5/8 time. The mood changes between

major melodies and minor melodies throughout the opening sections of the movement, still

representing what Golland perceived as the mix of happiness and sadness in his early life

discussed previously. He had experienced plenty of happiness and success, but still regretted

being socially unaccepted by some of his peers in the brass band world. This section finishes

with a final, minor statement of the title theme where he spells out his own name one last time.

The solo line then goes quickly through alterations of the same chord progressions and melodic

figures that comprised the opening cadenza. To finish, Golland wrote a rapid chromatic ascent to

the D at the top of the euphonium’s range. 67 This note matches the highest note written in

Gordon Jacob’s Fantasia (1973), and is one whole-step higher than the top note included by

Joseph Horovitz in his Euphonium Concerto (1972). 68 All of the writing in this piece exemplifies

Golland’s typical compositional style. Its tonality, variety of textures, the meticulous thematic

development, the mixture of meters and modes, the symbolic writing, and especially the

67
Golland, John. Euphonium Concerto No. 1. London: Chester Music, 1984. Print.
68
Bone, 127.
23
construction of the melodic lines all match his writing preferences as they often exist in his other

works.

Conclusion

The increased levels of performance expectations established by Golland’s Concerto began a

generation of new repertoire for the euphonium marked by rising levels of technical difficulty.

Compared to its predecessors, this Concerto included a much larger range and lasted for a longer

amount of time. 69 Following the precedent set by Golland’s Concerto in 1982, subsequent

composers have continued to publish music that includes increasingly difficult challenges for

euphonium performers. Some current euphonium concertos include nearly five and a half

octaves of functional range and last twenty-two minutes or more. 70 Golland’s personal

experience learning the instrument and his strong relationship with the Childs family made him

familiar enough with the euphonium to know what would challenge euphonium performers while

still being possible to play. 71 Subsequent generations of composers have continued this trend of

writing difficult music for the euphonium, though many do so without having learned how to

play the euphonium themselves. John Golland was the first of many composers to take advantage

of the versatile range and technical abilities possible on the euphonium, and the repertoire now

has numerous new pieces which include challenges of range or technique for the euphonium.

69
Bone.
70
Ellerby, Concerto.
71
Bone.
24
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

"2016 RNCM Brass Band Festival." RNCM. Royal North College of Music, 2015. Web. 26 Jan.
2016.

“A Tribute to John Golland.” Tameside MBC News. Tameside Metropolitan Borough, September
12, 2007. Last modified September 12, 2007. Accessed November 7, 2015.
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"Atmospheres 1st Mov: Mystery (John Golland)." YouTube. ARMAB1, 26 Dec. 2009. Web. 3
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"Ballet for Band - 1983." YouTube. Cory Band, 5 Nov. 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

"Biography - John Golland." Archives Hub. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

"Biography." Gervase De Peyer. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Bone, Lloyd E., Eric Paull, and R. Winston. Morris. Guide to the Euphonium Repertoire: The
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Branham, Mary, and Bevis Hillier. A Tonic to the Nation: The Festival of Britain. London:
Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.

Conekin, Becky. "The Autobiography of a Nation": The 1951 Festival of Britain. Manchester:
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Ellerby, Martin. Euphonium Concerto. London: Studio Music, 1997. Print.

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Evans, Richard J. The Third Reich at War. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.

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3 Nov. 2015.

Golland, John. Euphonium Concerto No. 1. London: Chester Music, 1984. Print.

Golland, John. Meiso. Con Moto Publications, 1990.

Golland, John. Peace. N.p.: Hallamshire Music, 1977. Print.

Golland, John. Rhapsody No. 1 for Eb Horn. Studio Music, 1986.

Golland, John. Sonata for Eb Tenor Horn. N.p.: Kirklees Music, n.d. Print.

Golland, John. Sounds. N.p.: Con Moto Publications, n.d. Print.

25
Gourlay, James. "John Golland and His Music." E-mail interview. 20 Feb. 2016.

"Heejeong Lucia Kye." Euro Music Festival. Euro Arts, 2006. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Higginbottom, Gordon. "Discussing John Golland." Telephone interview. 2 Nov. 2015.

Horovitz, Joseph, and Michael Flanders. Captain Noah and His Floating Zoo. Kent: Novello &
Limited, 1970. Print.

Horovitz, Joseph. Ballet for Band. Watford, Herts: R. Smith, 1983. Print.

Horovitz, Joseph. Euphonium Concerto. London: Novello, 1991. Print.

Horovitz, Joseph. Sonatina For Clarinet and Piano. Borough Green: Novello, 1982.

Horovitz, Joseph. Tuba Concerto. London: Studio Music, 1989.

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"John Golland Award" Royal Northern College of Music. RNCM, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2015.

"John Golland." Brass Band Results. Tim Sawyer, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

"John Golland." Classical Archives. Classical Archives LLC, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

"John Golland." Last.FM. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

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Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

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"MEISO." Just Music Brass Band. Just Music, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.

Morris, R. Winston., and Daniel Perantoni. Guide to the Tuba Repertoire: The New Tuba Source
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Perle, George. Serial Composition and Atonality. Fourth Edition ed. Berkeley: U of California,
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Ruedi, Thomas. "Joseph Horovitz." E-mail interview. 29 Jan. 2016.

26
"Slow Movement of Sonata for Tenor Horn & Piano by John Golland." YouTube. Golland
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Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

27
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

A native of Darlington, South Carolina, Paul Dickinson has been working for the past

few years as both a performer and teacher in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. His

abilities on the euphonium took him to competitive stages early in his solo career, earning him

praises from respected brass musicians and a handful of placements in national and international

competitions. He has also begun the compilation of a recording project called “Foundational

Repertoire,” the purpose of which is to develop an easily accessible catalogue of early through

intermediate solos and etudes for the euphonium and tuba as a resource for public school

teachers, high- and middle-school students, and young college musicians. In addition to his

pursuit of performance opportunities, Paul has also dedicated his time to music education. He

regularly works with high school and middle school students in addition to his college studio at

Florida State University. Over the past few years, his students have received high ratings at Solo

and Ensemble festivals, been contracted into championship DCI corps, been accepted into highly

competitive college studios, and have advanced to take top seats in university-level ensembles in

several strong music schools across the southeastern United States.

Paul holds degrees from Furman University (BME, ’11) and Georgia State University

(MM, ’13), with an expected completion of his DM from Florida State University in May 2016.

He was primarily taught by Mark Britt (trombone), Fred Boyd (trombone/tuba), Mike Taylor

(tuba), Eric Bubacz (tuba), Adam Frey (euphonium), and Paul Ebbers (tuba/euphonium). When

not teaching or practicing each low brass instrument, he enjoys reading, doing crosswords,

travelling, and spending time with his wife, Kelsey, and their guinea pig, Alice.

28