Christopher Tyler Nickel: Concerto for Piccolo; Concerto for Four Wagner Tubas in Bloomington, MN

In addition to larger works, composer
Christopher Tyler Nickel
has written a delightful series of concertos, many of them for unusual instruments (he wrote one for heckelphone). Here, he takes on the varied challenges of writing for piccolo and for four Wagner tubas. Interestingly, his treatment of the instruments runs counter to type; the solo piccolo, played by
Los Angeles Philharmonic
piccolo principal
Sarah Jackson
, is a rather nervous presence that hangs above the ensemble even in tutti passages. Things relax a bit in the slow movement, but the uneasy mood does not fully disappear. The Wagner tubas, by contrast, created and intended for monumental operatic scenes, are quiet, a murmuring presence that exploits this instrument's marvelous lower register. Formally,
Nickel
's two concertos are flexible treatments of Baroque forms, with the
Concerto for Four Wagner Tubas
especially reminiscent of the concerto grosso.
's harmonic language, too, is flexible; there is a good deal of dissonance, but the finale of the
has a delightful effect where the finale begins in pure D major, as if, as the composer indicates, "one were stepping out of a church, whose interior is glowingly lit by stained glass, into brilliant sunshine and fresh air." Players of the French horn (which the Wagner tuba more closely resembles than it does its namesake) and the piccolo will find this an essential item, and it is an entertaining listen for all. ~ James Manheim