Re: philosophy of tuba playing
Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2017 9:17 am
A couple of wise - albeit they are humorous - from John Fletcher back in the mid 80s.
I paraphrase them as it's been a long time.
On tuba playing as art: 'It's an illusion. The tuba player is a workman down in the basement shovelling coal into the furnace so everyone else is comfortable.'
On the tuba solo - also the "tuba recital:"
John felt there was really not much serious/bonafide (in his words "proper") solo literature for the tuba as in the case of say the violin, cello. flute etc.
Therefore he felt the tubaist really needed to program wisely something the audience would appreciate (keeping it relatively to the point) and then after playing (many pieces being transcribed from other instruments) get off the stage as quick as possible before the audience realized what they just witnessed.
He was not above playing transcriptions: Czardas, Flight of the Bumble Bee, quartets of Tchaikowsky that he dubbed as a quartet.
Part of John's philosophy of course was a bit of self deprecation and humility. He was a great and unique player, extremely bright intellectually, and an incredible wit and mimic. John saw the fun and humor in music and focused on a certain lightness in his playing and seemed to be concerned about not letting "ice" or tension on the stage form in certain situations.
Yes, he could be rather "nasty" in his playing which he spoke about as a certain 'style' with the demands of the tuba.
Intonation was an ongoing challenge as he felt in the orchestra there were as many ideas of how to play in a certain key as there were players and he needed to keep adjusting to whatever was dominant. He often remarked that his tubas were not perfect and the quirks on a particular horn would start to bug him after a while. He would then play the other for a period. When I ask why not invest in one of the new fancy "swiss made" instruments, his comment was something like "... well then the struggle would be worse as the closer the horn is to being properly 'in-tune' the further it is away from all the variations of pitch that I need to confront in the orchestra." I believe he was insinuating that it is the players job to play in-tune not the instrument.
He was a consumate 'artist' all illusions aside. And, he could play the most serious solo literature to which we are witness.
He did however, make listening to his music making 'fun' for many of us. as he was able to add so much personal nuance and style to his playing.
He did work extremely hard and once mentioned to me that he needed to work roughly 3 times as many hours in the UK to make what his orchestral colleaques were earning in top tier American orchestras.
But above all, when you are around a great player such as John, you do realize that all things aside, there is a love and passion for what you do.
I truly believe that is the core to being great at what you do and also being perceived by others as being exceptional.
I paraphrase them as it's been a long time.
On tuba playing as art: 'It's an illusion. The tuba player is a workman down in the basement shovelling coal into the furnace so everyone else is comfortable.'
On the tuba solo - also the "tuba recital:"
John felt there was really not much serious/bonafide (in his words "proper") solo literature for the tuba as in the case of say the violin, cello. flute etc.
Therefore he felt the tubaist really needed to program wisely something the audience would appreciate (keeping it relatively to the point) and then after playing (many pieces being transcribed from other instruments) get off the stage as quick as possible before the audience realized what they just witnessed.
He was not above playing transcriptions: Czardas, Flight of the Bumble Bee, quartets of Tchaikowsky that he dubbed as a quartet.
Part of John's philosophy of course was a bit of self deprecation and humility. He was a great and unique player, extremely bright intellectually, and an incredible wit and mimic. John saw the fun and humor in music and focused on a certain lightness in his playing and seemed to be concerned about not letting "ice" or tension on the stage form in certain situations.
Yes, he could be rather "nasty" in his playing which he spoke about as a certain 'style' with the demands of the tuba.
Intonation was an ongoing challenge as he felt in the orchestra there were as many ideas of how to play in a certain key as there were players and he needed to keep adjusting to whatever was dominant. He often remarked that his tubas were not perfect and the quirks on a particular horn would start to bug him after a while. He would then play the other for a period. When I ask why not invest in one of the new fancy "swiss made" instruments, his comment was something like "... well then the struggle would be worse as the closer the horn is to being properly 'in-tune' the further it is away from all the variations of pitch that I need to confront in the orchestra." I believe he was insinuating that it is the players job to play in-tune not the instrument.
He was a consumate 'artist' all illusions aside. And, he could play the most serious solo literature to which we are witness.
He did however, make listening to his music making 'fun' for many of us. as he was able to add so much personal nuance and style to his playing.
He did work extremely hard and once mentioned to me that he needed to work roughly 3 times as many hours in the UK to make what his orchestral colleaques were earning in top tier American orchestras.
But above all, when you are around a great player such as John, you do realize that all things aside, there is a love and passion for what you do.
I truly believe that is the core to being great at what you do and also being perceived by others as being exceptional.
