Recordings

[J Stowe]

So, after being inspired by James' courage, I've also decided to post some previous recordings for constructive criticism. I've listened to them, and I know there are mistakes, but if there's anything you guys would like to offer, I'd love to hear some input from a blind audience.

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?so ... 016&T=4235

Let me know if this link doesn't work.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Justin...that was outstanding work. Was that your undergraduate senior recital?

A few observations:

Shostakovich "Adagio" - This is a nice piece I haven't heard before. It reminds me a bit of Vocalise by Rachmaninoff. Very nice lines, superb pitch, and great energy up to the high Gb. Try to drop the jaw even more for the trips into the low register, especially the movement down to low Ab after the climax...it wasn't terrible or anything, just could have spoken for you a bit nicer...difficult on the F (even an 822, I know). Not much else to say here...great work!

Newton Capriccio - Kind of in three "movements," so I'll break down my comments that way:
I. I really like your vibrato which speeds up a bit at the end of held notes...this really adds interest to your playing. Nice technique here...VERY polished. This is what I mean when I talk about preparation. You obviously had the licks in muscle memory and in your head.
II. Again, very pretty lyrical playing...you do a great job connecting note-to-note, which is usually such a struggle for tuba players. A bit of stuffiness on the lower notes...sometimes it sounds like you start the pitch a bit high and then release the jaw down into the low note.
III. Not quite as strong as the first section, but still very good (maybe you were tiring a bit at this point in the recital?). Sounded like perhaps a missed fingering or two, but that happens to everybody. You do such a nice job of shaping lines, particularly repeated phrases or sequences which you really know how to "juice." That being said, it's really glaring when the shaping isn't as good, which I thought it wasn't quite as strong in the quasi-cadenza. Make that cadenza yours, and really figure out where the high points of the phrases are...it sounded a little "all-the-same" but again, because the phrasing is so good in the rest of the piece. The ending was fantastic...you really shined on the last run up to high F.

Albinoni - Thanks for including a different period piece. It's nice to balance the more modern pieces with something a little different.
I. Nice, clean articulations...you "get it" when it comes to the style of the Baroque period. You have a crisp attack which tapers down into each note, much like a string player would have. Again, I have to comment on how well you shape the phrases (even though they are a bit easier to follow in this sort of piece ). Just a few weird pitches on this one, but just minor slips...didn't detract from the music at all.
II. Really nice pitch control on the long durations through the crescendi and decrescendi...that's very difficult to do well! I'm catching one little thing on wide upward slurs...the pitch seems to "telegraph" the upcoming slur a bit; that is, it seems like you might be moving the jaw just before making the slur and the pitch of the lower note goes sharp right before the slur happens...do you have a lot of jaw movement when you play in general? Anyway, more very nice lyrical playing...I wish I could blow through phrases as nicely as you do.
III. Very nice dance character appropriate to the period. The repeated high As at the beginning seemed a bit flat, but were better in the recap. You handled the faster stuff nicely...nice job! Trills/ornaments seem a little weird, as they did in the second movement...I wasn't always clear on what you were intending on those.

Thanks for posting, Justin. I think you're kind of hard on yourself...there were mistakes, but very few and far between, and nothing to dwell on. Your level of preparedness was truly superior. My compliments to you and your teacher. Good luck!

[J Stowe]

Thanks for the positive comments! This was my senior recital last year. I also played the Strauss Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, but for some reason acidplanet isn't letting me download it.

I used to have tons of jaw movement in high school, which was probably the first issue that my teacher addressed. I would definitely agree with all of your comments: I've always been a pretty natural musician, I just let the horn control me. That is reflected in the slurs and stiffness in the low register. I'm glad you brought it to my attention about the jaw movement; I think I'll make an exercise out of doing slurs in front of a mirror to look at my movement. My teacher and I typically only notice problems with shifting in the lower range, but I'm not surprised that it would show up in other tessituras.

Listening back on the cadenza, it surely sticks out as being rigid and disconnected. We had worked on making it more meaningful and expressive, I just never let myself go enough on cadenzas (probably a combination of nerves and lack of focus).

The ornamentation is too fast usually. I'm thinking that they were mordents, but they still should have been blown through to make them clean.

Thanks again for the input.

[MikeMason]

You've got game!

[MikeMason]

Now,having said that,I think most of us judge tuba playing by the "how does that compare to my playing" standards.So alot of us are going to be impressed by your very nice playing.But, if you want real truth,post that Shosty. on a cello site and see what they say.(I wouldn't have the balls to,but you might be into pain ).Still,very nice playing...