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Many composers who write good tuba parts in their standard orchestral compositions leave the tuba out entirely when writing a piano concerto.

OTOH, there is the occasional piano concerto that does have prominent lines for tuba (Prokofieff, anyone?).

However, there are also a great number of piano concertos where there is a tuba part of minimal interest.

Of course, one is happy for the gig, even if the tuba plays only 14 notes, right? Despite that, what piano concertos have the best tuba parts?

Prokofiev

Yeah Prokofiev 1 and 2 I believe have a few exposed parts
I played in this Prokofiev piano concerto # 1 last year
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SGGD6J2JCk" target="_blank

The Poulenc Double Piano Concerto has a very good tuba part.

How much of the nature of piano tuning influences the exclusion of low string bass, contrabass tuba, and piccolo parts in Piano Concertos? Or at least active/prominent parts.

Gershwin-Piano Concerto in F comes to mind.

I've had a chance to play most of the Rachmaninoff Concerti. I can't remember which one's I've played, but I know a total of three. They didn't have anything too flashy, but were fun to play nonetheless.

Liszt Eb "The Triangle" has a very minimal tuba part. Dvorak 9 looks like a tuba concerto in comparison.

Rhapsody in Blue (both the original and the later full orchestra version) and the Rachmaninoff "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" (feel free to correct the title and spellings) come to mind, though not true concerti.

The Grieg A Minor is not a horrible part, but no exciting stuff really, either.

my brain is hurting.

eupher61 wrote:Liszt Eb "The Triangle" has a very minimal tuba part. Dvorak 9 looks like a tuba concerto in comparison.

Tuba part? Just got done conducting it. No tuba in my score. Never came across my stand when I was playing. Perhaps you are thinking of #2 in A which has a minimal, but fun, tuba part.

eupher61 wrote:The Grieg A Minor is not a horrible part, but no exciting stuff really, either.

Nope, no tuba part there either.

The best of the Liszt pieces is the "Totentanz", tuba wise. The BEST tuba part in any piano concerto I have ever played is to Prokofiev's 1st in Db. One place where you have to honk out Pedal EE's and then jump 2 octaves and bang out some E's in the staff that are a solo. The part is actually quite rangy. Good fun.

Chuck

eupher61 wrote:Liszt Eb "The Triangle" has a very minimal tuba part.

Luck's Music lists (no pun intended) the instrumentation for Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 as:

Reprint: Breitkopf and Härtel
Instrumentation: 2+1.2.2.2/2.2.3.0,timp,perc,str,pf solo

Kalmus shows:

2+1, 2, 2, 2 - 2, 2, 3, 0
timp, perc, str, [solo piano]

There is no question that there is a tuba part in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 2 in A. But is there or is there not a tuba part in the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 in Eb (the one that features the triangle)?

Thanks.

The only 2 piano concertos* I've played for is Prokofiev 3rd- no tuba part but a -hell- of a bass trombone part (I've never played a piece with so few notes that was so much fun!). The ascending lines with the string basses in the last few movement? The string basses pulling in the ocean bed earlier on? Friggin sublime!
Do all the other Prok. piano concertos have tuba parts?

*The other was a pretty cookin Tchaikovsky piece with a decent bass trombone part and I think tuba as well, I cannot remember which one it was.

Just last night, I played Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto. Not especially prominent or difficult, but a nice tuba part IMO.

Both Kalmus and Luck's sell reprints of the same Breitkopf edition of the Liszt Piano concerto No. 1. As shown on the instrumentation chart posted there is no tuba part.

THE book for finding STANDARD repertoire: Daniels, David "Orchestral Music: A Handbook, Fourth Edition." Lists 120 works for Solo Piano and Orchestra that have Tuba.
Works include Bartok Piano 2 and 3; Britten Piano No. 1; Busoni; Copland; Delius; Dohnányi Variations; Falla, Noches en los jardines de España;
Gershwin Concerto F major, I got Rhythm, Rhapsody, Second Rhapsody; Ginastera Concerto; Indy Symphonie; Khachaturian; Liszt Concerto for Piano, No.2; Messiaen Turangalîla-symphonie; Milhaud Concerto No.1 and No.3; Poulenc; Prokofiev Concerto 1,2, 5; Rachmaninov 2,3,4, Rhapsodie; Ravel Left hand; Stravinsky Capriccio, and Concerto for Piano & Wind Instruments; Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 3; Vaughan Williams Concerto for piano.
Messiaen La Transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ has solo piano and needs two tubas.

Works with Solo Tuba that contain piano parts:

Foss, Lukas - Night Music for John Lennon
solos: 2tp, hn, tbn, tuba (or 2nd tbn)
1 1 1 1 — 1 1 1 0 — elec gtr — 1perc — pf — str[min 5.4.4.3.1]
perc: gong, sus cym, sd, td, vib, musical saw, anvil
Contents--Prelude, Fugue, and Chorale
Pub: Pembroke/ Carl Fischer

Kleinsinger, George - Tubby the Tuba
solo tuba narrator
2[1.2/pic] 1 2[1.2/opt bcl] 1 — 2 2 1 0 — tmp+1 — pf/cel — str
perc: sus cym, sd, woodblk, templeblks, xyl
Bcl part may be played on bn.
Pub: Music Theatre International on rental.