Tuba Concertos

[TinyTubist97]

I am currently playing the Vaughan Williams Concerto on my new F tuba (first on BBb then CC!). I'm wondering what other great pieces are out there. I have a few ideas of what I'm looking for already: can't be too much harder than the VW, not something that's too out of the ordinary to be understood by my 14 and 15 year old colleagues, it doesn't have to have been written for tuba originally, there need to be some recordings of the piece somewhere, and most importantly it has to have places where I can just be a complete show-off!

Also, please make sure that the pieces that you recommend are easy to find and purchase!

[TubaNerd88]

Check out the Tuba Concerto by Edward Gregson. Not as hard as the Vaughan Williams, and it's more enjoyable from an entertainment perspective.

[AHynds]

In my (very humble) opinion, two of the best concertos/sonatas for the tuba are Bruce Broughton's Sonata and Rolf Wilhelm's Concertino. The Wilhelm is a little more difficult, and somewhat harder to find, but for me it is just about the best concerto out there for the instrument. Even if you don't like his musical style, Eric Ewazen's Concerto is still a worthy piece to practice and perform. Ditto the Gregson. If you're looking for a challenge still, I'd also check out Jan Koetsier's Concertino. The Martin Ellerby Concerto is also a great work, and a little different from some other works. The first half is very lyrical and melodious, and the second half allows the tubist to show off their technique. Finally, I'd check out James Barnes Concerto; he's a tuba player, so it is very idiomatic to the instrument.

[biscuitsdonovan]

tinytubist the broughton is really good I agree with the last post the john williams is good too. that is a more difficult one but I think you can pull it off, and the hindemith is a simple one. I have all of these btw

[Mark]

His Majesty the Tuba.

[MikeW]

Have you tried "Fantasy for Tuba" by Malcolm Arnold ?
They tell me its not that tricky (it is for me) but it's un-accompanied, so it's a real test of nerve. Audiences mostly seem to like it ok.

[elihellsten]

I must say that I'm impressed with you playing VW at such a young age. KIU!

[BVD Press]

I would scour the contest lists and also college professors sites from around the globe.

We have a ton on our site with many sound files:

http://www.cimarronmusic.com/

I will let others tell if they like or don't like them...

Good luck!

[J.c. Sherman]

--shameless plug--

If you've got solid high chops, the Concerto for Tubameister by Victor Davies is a hoot.

Otherwise, Strauss' 1st Horn concerto is an excellent challenge.

[ralphbsz]

Otherwise, Strauss' 1st Horn concerto is an excellent challenge.

I'm still waiting for someone to try the Gliere horn concerto on a tuba. Looking at the score, it should be doable an octave down from what is written (for some with solid high tessitura chops). My 12 year old son fell in love with it (after succeeding reasonably on the Mozart D-major horn concerto, transposed down to Bb), but he can't even get through the first page of it, much less make it sound like music. I think for an accomplished player, it should be achievable (whether it will be beautiful or musically valuable is a different question, it will at least be good exercise).

OK, maybe not the cadenza. The Polekh cadenza looks hard; the Baumann cadenza might be easier (but that one seems to have two notes sounding at the same time, which is supposedly doable on the horn, and I've never heard it on a tuba).

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I'm still waiting for someone to try the Gliere horn concerto on a tuba. Looking at the score, it should be doable an octave down from what is written (for some with solid high tessitura chops). My 12 year old son fell in love with it (after succeeding reasonably on the Mozart D-major horn concerto, transposed down to Bb), but he can't even get through the first page of it, much less make it sound like music. I think for an accomplished player, it should be achievable (whether it will be beautiful or musically valuable is a different question, it will at least be good exercise).

Yikes. It's "thick" enough in the horn octave. Way too many thirds and sevenths in the solo line that would sound horrible in a muddier range. No thanks.

OK, maybe not the cadenza. The Polekh cadenza looks hard; the Baumann cadenza might be easier (but that one seems to have two notes sounding at the same time, which is supposedly doable on the horn, and I've never heard it on a tuba).

They're called multiphonics, and they're actually much easier and clearer on a tuba than on a horn.

[J.c. Sherman]

One of my friends has threatened to fillet me if I try the Gliere... but I've been tempted.

Truly, I've found that horn concerti - on a clear, bright bass tuba, do not present a "mud problem"; in fact, much of my approach to the tuba comes from horn pedagogy and their approaches to phrasing, color, etc. Strauss 1, All the Mozarts, Knechtel, Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Weber, Haydn, and others all work wonderfully. Gliere is something I'll do, but only when my friend is looking the other way

J.c.S. (whose friend hate's admitting that her literature works on the tuba)

[Todd S. Malicoate]

J.C. -

My point was that, in the tuba register (octave), playing Ab resolving to G in a Bb7-Eb progression sounds like crap.

Todd "happy to clarify" S. Malicoate