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I was listening to some Chinese classical music and enjoyed the different perspective on melody and tonality.

Has anyone seen, played, bought or thought about the possibility of Chinese solo music for tuba?

Do you have a source?

If I recall correctly, during the Cultural Revolution the tuba was either banned or strongly discouraged/out of favor. I think Madame Mao didn't like it or something. Maybe Jonathan has some background?

There was piece that got quite a bit of mileage a few years back called "Tales of the Cultural Revolution" that dealt with Madame Mao's dislike of the tuba and her efforts to have it banned from public performance. I believe that along with the Solo Tuba and Piano, there may have been a speaker and some kind of multi-media involved. Someone closer to the solo lit will be able to address the specifics.

I was in China in the summer of 2011 and had the pleasure of sharing a concert with a top-noth student ensemble that played folk instruments and a community level orchestra that played what I would term Chinese Orchestral Music. The folk ensemble was fabulous. While I soon got tired of the repetitive timbre's and tessitura's (high and loud), I could admire the zeal that the students bought to their performances. The Comminuty Orchestra from Quinghuangdo (I hope I got that right) was very commited to their performances of Chinese Orchestral Music. As with the majority of community ensembles, they were longer on enthusiasm than ability, but gave nice performances of a tone poem whose name escapes me(heavily influenced by Liszt, but with the requisite pentatonic harmonies troughout) and the Butterfly Lovers Concerto. The did include a traditional instrument piece entitled "Buddha Jumped Over the Wall" which is a virtuouso work for a Chinese style oboe( longish tube, closed mouthpiece contained a doubled reed, and a large flare bell with a sound that could be only described as unique) that seems to be THE PIECE for that instrument. While the sound, to me, was annoying, the guy playing it was off the hook good.

On CCTV, I was only able to find performances of Folk Ensembles, most of whom were populated by drop-dead gorgeous women obviously faking it. On their instruments, naturally. I guess East has met West.

I'd go back to China in a heart beat. Great people, great food, and an abundance of great musicians.

Chuck

Calling Mickey...come in please, Mickey. Wrobotuba...

Greetings all-

Tired from Strauss, but gotta get this out before the week dawns..

There are currently a handful of works written by Chinese composers featuring the tuba.

Xiao Ying- Lu Quan de Gu Shi for Solo Tuba (Written for Wang Hai Yu, Principal Tuba of the China National Symphony Orchestra)
Wang Lu- A Floral, Moonlit Night on a Spring River for Tuba and Gu Zheng
Xiao Ying, Kafka's Dream for Solo Tuba and Chamber Ensemble
Kang Yi Hui Chinese Impressions for Brass Quintet (the tuba part is really tough, but rewarding)


Symphonic work-wise, there is a mountain of music out there that is challenging and rewarding. Perhaps not always orchestrated with the greatest of skill, but there are some real barn burners. I have a stack of the excerpts behind me. A LOT of music.

Chuck- that Chinese oboe is called the Suo Na. The city is Qin Huang Dao. You were close though.
To address your observation about the sounds:
As you probably noted, the people over here tend to be REALLY loud. In the tea houses, where a lot of this music was/is performed, and in Opera Halls, or outdoor stages, the sound of the singers or instrumentalists needed to get over that din and actually be heard by those who are actively listening. Those instruments (and the voices the accompany) are shrill, yes, but the cut through just about anything. Think of them as the Ginsu's of music.

We've done several works which integrate traditional chinese instruments into the orchestra with excellent results. It depends on the composer and their familiarity with both families.

I'm in the process of making recordings of several of the prominent orchestral parts (with Gene's blessing) for kids to study over here. I guess it'll be in english as well. In addition to the spoken commentary by the tuba player, there will be comments from the conductor, and the composer as well. Giving a little insight into how all three approach the same piece. One CD will certainly not be enough. The hardest part is getting the time together to assemble it all.

Of interest is "China's Shostakovich", composer Wang Xi Lin. His symphonic works ALWAYS have plenty to do, and are emotionally charged to say the least. We've premiered/performed most all of his pieces over the years. He is composing a tuba concerto. It actually started as a short show piece for tuba and orchestra, but he decided he wanted to write a full-on concerto instead.

Jeopardymaster:
There are a few different versions of this floating around. The tuba wasn't "banned" from China. It still existed in the military bands. Never vanquished.

There was a rehearsal run by Li De Lun, the godfather of Chinese conductors. During the break, Jiang Qing approached the maestro to inform him that she was offended by the sound of an instrument, the bass trombone, and that it and all trombones should be taken out. Li De Lun knew that would be a bad choice, so he sacrificed the tuba.

Tuba players employed in orchestras at that time were sent out to the fields for re-education. The tuba player of the now defunct Shanghai Radio Symphony Orchestra was one such person. He later became the librarian of that orchestra, and for Paul, Giacomo, and myself, he always took care of our instruments personally on orchestra tours. He loved the tuba and would just sit and listen to me practice and ask questions about everything. I miss that guy.

Others, who played along, moved to other positions quickly. Either, they picked up bass, trombone, or another instrument, they became teachers for song and dance troops, or the sought a different vocation entirely. Different times.

I have been very fortunate to have had the cream of the crop, and many diamonds in the rough, come through my studio door. The China Conservatory, where I teach, now offers a Master's Degree in Tuba Performance. It was only 3 years ago that the China Conservatory started a western instrumental teaching division. The tuba students that I have are just as driven as the violin and piano students, but, the country still views us with one raised eyebrow. That is all changing- for the better.

The things which are happening and will be happening are born from a love of music and profound appreciation for the instrument. I have forged relationships and earned the trust, respect, and admiration of my counterparts. Getting them organized and all willing to work together has been a multi-year multi-faceted task. Finally, things are starting to take form. Not from luck or good fortunes, but from maintaining a principle-centered approach to what I set out to accomplish and staying the course. Now, when visiting tubists/euphoniumists come, they have a much broader net on which to rely, and a built-in brotherhood that is happy to welcome them to our community.

Anyone could have done this.

Over the next 5-10 years, there will be some very exciting things coming out of and happening in China to our tuba and euphonium world.

Micky

Anyone could have done this.

I'm not so sure of that. But at any rate I'm glad you did. Many thanks for sharing your post with us.

wrobotuba wrote:...Over the next 5-10 years, there will be some very exciting things coming out of and happening in China to our tuba and euphonium world...

Micky, thank you very much for the interesting information and thoughts about music in China. It will be very exciting to see and hear what will happen in the coming years, hopefully we in other parts of the world will have more chances both to listen to and perform more of the Chinese originated works.