As an American who is living and studying music here in the UK, I came here with an open mind and full understanding that brass playing is DIFFERENT here than in the US--different styles and obviously different equipment.
I have seen many of the top orchestras in England and must say that most tuba players seem to prefer the EEb for a large portion of the repertoire....and that's NOT a bad thing. I tend to the think that British EEb playing is a bit like German F playing--much more complete than what is normally heard in the US. The Germans use their F's for most everything, without whining about "The Low C". They don't seem to have problems with it?! The British don't sound 'funky' on the 3+1 EEb's either.
The CC tuba is becoming much more popular here lately, and that's usually a PT-6. I've heard Ewan Easton with the Halle on many occaisions using the EEb or the CC must like the Americans would switch from F to CC. I've also seen Patrick Harrild play entire programs on EEb where I thought he might break out a large CC....and he sounded wonderful with the LSO! And contrary to popular belief....there are F tubas in the UK that are owned and used by UK-nationals!
But if you live here for a while, you can see the enormous influence that the brass band tradition has on brass playing in the UK. There are numerous books written about the history of the British brass band and I'd recommend finding one. It's not only a historical survey, but a cultural one as well.
Just because we don't do it in the States, doesn't mean that it's any less-valid elsewhere.
Josh Wirt
Gregson Concerto
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