Great Tuba Playing, Comrade
Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:06 pm
I chime in every once in a while to share with you some recordings of interest that spotlight what I feel, IMHO, to be some really fine tuba playing. This installment is no different. I have just gotten done listening to a recording offered in a BBC Music Magazine from the latter part of the 1990's. On this disk are two of the blatantly "Soviet" works by Shostakovich, the Symphony No. 2 "To the October Revolution", and Prokofiev's "Cantata for the 20th Anniversary of the October Revolution". Both are expertly played by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Chorus under the direction of Mark Elder. I have never found Elder's conducting to be anything deep, and that trait serves this rather servile music well. As you can imagine, these works are a paean to the Soviet revolution, replete with machine guns, and an ACCORDIAN. While not the deepest of scores, there are moments of sheer beauty and power that shine through making them highly listenable.
HOWEVER, the tuba playing is a primer on how to play LOUD and SOFT with a beautiful sound that is never "woofy" or "strident". Think of blending the "creaminess" of a York with the core and punch of an Alex, putting that tuba in the guise of an EEb, and putting it into this tuba players accomplished hands and you have one of my top 5 best recorded tuba sounds of all times. There are ALOT of exposed tuba solos, particularly in the first minute of the Shostakovich, and the tuba within the ensemble playing is nothing short of spectacular. Kudos to the man with the horn on his face, he is a fabulous player, technically and musically.
I am not sure of the availibility, but the recording was issued in the BBC Music Magazine, Vol. V, No. 2 from the late '90"s. It was recorded on February 17, 1996 in the Royal Festival Hall, London. EVERY tuba player who wants to play in an orchestra MUST search out this recording and emulate the playing on it.
Cheers,
Chuck
HOWEVER, the tuba playing is a primer on how to play LOUD and SOFT with a beautiful sound that is never "woofy" or "strident". Think of blending the "creaminess" of a York with the core and punch of an Alex, putting that tuba in the guise of an EEb, and putting it into this tuba players accomplished hands and you have one of my top 5 best recorded tuba sounds of all times. There are ALOT of exposed tuba solos, particularly in the first minute of the Shostakovich, and the tuba within the ensemble playing is nothing short of spectacular. Kudos to the man with the horn on his face, he is a fabulous player, technically and musically.
I am not sure of the availibility, but the recording was issued in the BBC Music Magazine, Vol. V, No. 2 from the late '90"s. It was recorded on February 17, 1996 in the Royal Festival Hall, London. EVERY tuba player who wants to play in an orchestra MUST search out this recording and emulate the playing on it.
Cheers,
Chuck
