LIFE AS A PICCOLO PLAYER | CONVENTION
VALE LESLIE BARKLAMB | PICCOLO CONCERTOS

PICCOLO CONCERTOS

For nearly 30 years I was Principal Piccolo in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), and during that time I have had the privilege of presenting the premier performances of concertos I commissioned from two Melbourne composers Barry McKimm and Michael Easton. I have been asked to provide some information regarding these works.

The concerto written by Barry McKimm is a very substantial one, lasting for more than 20 minutes! I had the privilege of being consulted during its formation and I found this a moving experience. Barry would come to me with a theme or section and enquired whether it was playable. I especially remember one occasion, when the MSO was on a tour of regional centres in western Victoria. One morning, before the schools concerts began, Barry took me to a small, dusty room behind stage and showed me the theme of the slow movement. It was beautiful! I nearly cried with delight. It has all the features of a Celtic melody, yet it was truly his own work. I told him “Don’t change a note, don’t change anything!” It was his practice to confer with his colleagues when composing a work for them, and he has written many. (These include concertos for exotic instrument such as the Tuba and the Bass Clarinet.)

Barry is at least 2 metre tall, has a long bushy beard and a lovely smile. He wears an akubra hat (naturally!); the archetypical Aussie. And when we were on tour, he would stay at the local pub and fraternise with the locals rather than be in the more salubrious environment of the motel.

Barry has written an Introduction to his piece and I think that we should read what he has to say.

“This concerto was composed in 1983 for Frederick Shade, principal piccolo with the Melbourne Symphony. At this time the available repertoire for piccolo as a solo instrument was very limited, and comprised mainly of transcriptions. To compose a major work for piccolo was a great challenge. In truth, I did not know what to do with such a wildly exciting orchestral instrument.

The piccolo has such a potent role within the orchestra, but it is also a limited role. Like most people, I was not aware of the low register, with its intimate beauty. It was after hearing Tim Whelan playing the Irish penny whistle that I realised what I might do. Tim Whelan was a great artist and virtuoso and it was his playing that really set this piece in motion. The idea of a Celtic concerto dawned on me and awakened tunes, images and distant associations.

The orchestration is in line with traditional Irish bands, piccolo, harp, strings, percussion. The oboe and cor anglais remind me of the pipes. The horns are not part of the traditional ensemble, but do serve in bringing the listener into the realm of the early classical symphony orchestra.

The Piccolo Concerto was recorded by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for radio broadcast in 1983, with the Melbourne Symphony conducted by Richard Divall. The first performance, in the presence of eighteen thousand people, was in February 1991, at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne, with the Melbourne Symphony conducted by Vladimir Verbitzsky. The soloists were Frederick Shade on piccolo and Huw Jones on harp.

In August1991 Vladimir Verbitzsky performed the Piccolo Concerto with his orchestra in Voronez and in Moscow. The piano version was prepared and published by the composer in 1998.”

The piece itself is not for the feint-hearted. The outer movements require considerable dexterity. The slow movement is truly exquisite. It is in E Major, and the slow melody ascends into the third register and requires considerable embouchure control. I have played this movement on its own with harp or piano. In fact, the harp plays a very prominent part in this work and is usually given equal billing. The harpist is also situated in front of the orchestra, together with the soloist, being placed on either side of the conductor. Rehearsals with the conductor and harp are essential.

Copies of this work can be obtained from the composer, Barry McKimm, P.O. Box 30, Warrandyte, Victoria, Australia, 3113. The MSO recording continues to be broadcast on FM stations throughout Australia.

The second piccolo concerto was commissioned from the English-born composer Michael Easton. He studied composition with Lennox Berkeley, and Michael’s music shows the influence of his teacher as well as Francis Poulenc. Michael arrived in Australia in the 1980s and we quickly became great friends. He was an impresario – establishing music festivals, writing for stage and screen, as well as for ensembles and soloists like myself. He was the co-founder of the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival (1991), and which now has an international reputation. (I had the honour of performing at its foundation and also last year, as well as frequently during the intervening years.) The piccolo concerto had a number of trial performances, and the definitive one was at the Port Fairy in 1992. It has become a very popular piece and continues to be broadcast on FM stations.

Michael worked differently to Barry McKimm in that he presented me with the completed work. All finished! However, I was free to ‘adjust’ the piece to suit my preferences, which I duly did. The articulation needed some adjustment; after all, Michael was a pianist! Michael was very happy with my editing and encouraged me to perform it that way.

There is a short explanatory note by Michael included in the publication and is as follows:

“This work was commissioned by Frederick Shade, principle piccolo for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Having known Frederick for some time I was delighted when he asked me to write an entertaining work for him and his instrument. The work was written in 1986 and Frederick was most generous with his time in editing the piccolo part for me.

The first performance of the concerto took place at Music in the Round with Robert Rosen conducting, and since then it has enjoyed a great deal of popularity. It is my most frequently broadcast work and, on one weekend in 1995, it was aired 5 times!

The work follows conventional concerto form, a dramatic first movement, melancholic middle movement and a romping rondo for a finale.

It has been recorded by Frederick Shade with the Academy of Melbourne under Brett Kelly on a CD of my music: Fun, Sun and Other Disappointments on Screenthemes (ST5 005) available from the publishers.”

I was also asked to provide some notes and I have included them here:

“I have had the pleasure of working with Michael Easton over the years in a number of premier performances of his works, and so I knew he would be the ideal composer to approach for a new piccolo concerto. Michael graciously took up the invitation and we now have a delightful work for piccolo and small orchestra.

The concerto follows the traditional three-movement format. The first movement (Allegro) is approximately 8th Grade (AMEB) standard, although this depends on how fast you wish to play the Agitato section! The opening of the second movement (Canzone-Andante) is a beautiful melody for the soloist, which then moves into an obligato part with challenges for breath control. This movement is approximately 8th Grade. The third movement (Rondo-Finale) romps along, and a sense of humour permeates this little gem. The short cadenza and coda section is an opportunity for the soloist to display rapid tonguing and technical dexterity. (A.Mus.A Level)

This is a most scintillating work, and I have had the pleasure of performing it on a number of occasions. It is a worthy addition to the meager repertoire of piccolo concertos, and will be enjoyed by both soloist and audience alike.”

Michael died early 2004 at the age of 49 years. A tragic loss to music. In recent years I have had the opportunity of performing the concerto with community orchestras – it requires a string orchestra and 2 percussionists. The concerto now has a piano reduction part and is available from Chester Music. The orchestra parts are in my possession and as yet have not been commercially printed. I am in the process of having them computer set. It is a delightful work, full of charm, exuberance and well within the capabilities of a competent player.

As you can imagine, it has been a wonderful experience collaborating with Barry and Michael, composers of different temperament yet both producing works that feature beautiful melodies, quirky rhythms and interesting harmonies.

Frederick A. Shade
July 2005

This article was published in two parts in FLUTE FOCUS October 2005 (Part 1) and January 2006 (Part 2).

The magazine can be obtained from Flute Focus Ltd,
112 Postman Road, RD4, Albany, New Zealand.