Reviewed 9 December 2025
Not a brass player himself, Robin Stevens' music revels in the challenges of writing for brass band and Tredegar Town Band do him proud on this new disc
Composer Robin Stevens studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and at Birmingham University with John Joubert. A cellist and teacher by trade, debilitating illness took him out of circulation for 17 years. Thankfully fully recovered, he has devoted himself to composition since 2017.
This new disc from Tredegar Town Band and Ian Porthouse on World of Sound showcases Robin Stevens' writing for brass band and for brass instruments. In his introduction in the CD booklet, Stevens is candid about the challenges of writing for brass instruments and brass band: "a composer writing for an instrumental family outside his or her comfort zone can, potentially at least, bring an unorthodox freshness of approach which is conducive to creative energy and vitality. As a music-college-trained cellist myself it is a common experience for me to present a wind or brass player with a challenging and unconventional passage and be received with an initial frown or two: then, with goodwill and give and take on both sides, adjustments are made to the passage which preserve its expressive essence, make it playable and bring into being music which, because it is not obviously idiomatic, probably would not have been conceived by a composer writing for their own instrument."
The disc opens with Brass Odyssey (from 2012-2013) for brass band and eight percussionists. The longest piece on the album, it is well over 20 minutes in duration, with Stevens structuring it in two parts, Elegy and Towards Rejoicing. It begins in a serious, bleak vein, with Stevens' use of note clusters giving density to the sound and providing an uncompromising air. There are percussion interjections, but often his use of the instruments is relatively discreet. Change comes gradually, with moments of colour and movement leading, eventually, to fanfares, yet at one point things collapse into a bleak solo. Finally, the music takes off unashamedly, with vivid, busy textures and eventually something of a swing to the rhythms, leading ultimately to a terrific clamour.
In complete contrast, The Warrior Awakes (from 2011) features just a single tuba, played here by Les Neish. Neish's tuba gives us a warm, vibrant sound as Stevens' flexible instrumental line moves gradually from slow to more mobile with large leaps and lots of energy. Mancunian Fanfare (from 2010) is featured twice on the recording. The first version is the original for brass sextet. It might be a fanfare, but there is something uncompromising about Stevens' sound world with plenty of jagged edges. The spare lines at the opening lead to a faster, vivid conclusion.
Dona Nobis Pacem (from 1994/2024) is for two euphoniums and piano (Sion Rhys Jones, Ellie Carlsen, Robin Stevens). Initially, the lyrical euphonium writing contrasts with the more dramatic piano, but focus remains on the brass instruments. The work develops a real sense of drama, but Stevens' writing for the euphoniums remains based on long-breathed lines. Rondo alla Berserker (from 2006) is for solo cornet, here Dewi Griffiths. A relatively straightforward rondo, it moves between jazzy sections and faster, vivid ones. Three-Way Conversation (from 2011) is for solo euphonium (Sion Rhys Jones). An explicitly descriptive piece, Stevens' depicts three different characters in conversation. The result is striking and provides a lovely showcase for Rhys Jones' fine euphonium playing. Cornutopia (from 2010), another of Stevens' punning titles, is for two French horns (Mary Fair and Peter Richards). By turns thoughtful, violent and vivid, the piece provides a fine virtuoso display as it puts the two players through their paces.
Homage to Dufay (from 2011) is for two euphoniums and two basses (Sion Rhys Jones, Ellie Carlsen, Rhys Michael, Ceri Parry Morgan) and was written for the retirement of distinguished musicologist and Dufay specialist Dr David Fallows. The work is a pastiche, and an intriguing one, the sound world moving between past and present until, naughtily, Stevens brings in 'For he's a jolly good fellow'! Supplication (from 2005) for tuba and piano (Les Neish, Colin Druce) is a serious, dramatic piece with real use being made of the contrasts in timbre and register between the two soloists who are presented as equals. There is a similar amount of small-scale drama in Fantasia dramatica (from 2011) for two euphoniums (Sion Rhys Jones, Ellie Carlsen); it features just two instrumental lines, yet there is plenty going on. The disc ends with the full brass band version of Mancunian Fanfare created in 2024 with vivid colours and jagged edges to the fore.
The soloists on the disc are a fine mix of players. Both Sion Rhys Jones and Ellie Carlsen are members of Tredegar Town Band alongside their teaching careers, whilst Dewi Griffiths is the band's principal cornet and Les Neish has a career as a solo player. But more than anything, the disc is a showcase for the band and their willingness to take on Stevens' fascinating yet challenging music.
Though nothing is said in the CD booklet, the disc is something of a poignant tribute to Robin Stevens' whose biographical note on his website reveals that he is in the late stages of terminal cancer.
Robin Stevens: Brass Odyssey - Tredegar Town Band, Ian Porthouse - World of Sound WOS176
1. Brass Odyssey – Brass Band and Percussion
2. The Warrior Awakes
3. Mancunian Fanfare (Brass Sextet)
4. Dona Nobi Pacem (Two Euphoniums and Piano)
5. Rondo Alla Berserker
6. Three-Way Conversation
7. Cornutopia (Two French Horns)
8. Homage to Dufay (Two euphoniums, Eb bass & Bb bass)
9. Supplication (Tuba and Piano)
10. Fantasia Dramatica (Two Euphoniums)
11. Mancunian Fanfare (Full Brass Band Version)
Recorded at Birmingham Conservatoire & Rougement School, Newport, Gwent, May-July 2025
Available from World of Brass, and on wobplay.
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