Good Alex recordings?

[TheHatTuba]

What are some good recordings of a 163 or Alex F, preferably solo or exposed?

[bisontuba]

Hi-
Older Boston Symphony with Chester on his CC Alex--Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet must be checked out! Also check out Planets with Chester playing the tenor tuba solos on his Alex F!!
Cleveland Orchestra with Ron Bishop & his Alex CC.

Mark

[T. J. Ricer]

Mike Thornton on his Alex 163:

[J.c. Sherman]

Almost all of the Cleveland Orchestra recordings since 1967 are on an Alex 163 or occasionally on an Alex F. Exceptions only use a Miraphone 184 or... maybe... a Rudy 3/4 CC.

[oedipoes]

wow!

is that on an Alex 163 ?

[Ben]

wow!

is that on an Alex 163 ?

Hard to imagine it's not, given the player and the era.

Sure sounds like one to me!

[MartyNeilan]

1968 - Boston Symphony - Live Broadcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bunK_pu1xDo" target="_blank" target="_blank

Boris Godunov Symphonic Synthesis. This is all Schmitz w/Alexander tuba gloriousity.

The stuff around the 11:00 mark is jaw dropping.

Old-school style orchestra playing at its best. They just don't make guys like Stokowski anymore.

[Ben]

Also this recording:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images ... 74&s=music

[Ted Cox]

It's really nice to see this thread here on the tubenet. Just to add two names into the mix. Dave Kirk of the Houston Symphony played an Alex for years and I suspect from time to time he still does, depending on the rep. Dave is an amazing player and I had the opportunity to hear him play Bruckner 4 live years ago. What a sound! Perhaps there are some recordings of the Houston Symphony from the period when Dave was just playing his Alex. I'm not sure what his solo CD was recorded on; maybe an Alex (?)

Also, Michael Lind. If you want to hear what an Alex F can do, I don't think you could find any better example than this great artist. I had the great fortune of studying with Michael in 1980 while Harvey was on sabatical at Indiana. This is also the time I started to learn F tuba. I.U. had two Alexander F tubas at that time. Now I own three.

[TheHatTuba]

It's really nice to see this thread here on the tubenet. Just to add two names into the mix. Dave Kirk of the Houston Symphony played an Alex for years and I suspect from time to time he still does, depending on the rep. Dave is an amazing player and I had the opportunity to hear him play Bruckner 4 live years ago. What a sound! Perhaps there are some recordings of the Houston Symphony from the period when Dave was just playing his Alex. I'm not sure what his solo CD was recorded on; maybe an Alex (?)

Also, Michael Lind. If you want to hear what an Alex F can do, I don't think you could find any better example than this great artist. I had the great fortune of studying with Michael in 1980 while Harvey was on sabatical at Indiana. This is also the time I started to learn F tuba. I.U. had two Alexander F tubas at that time. Now I own three.

Just bought one of Michael Lind's CD's yesterday. GREAT playing!

Beautiful horns! Is it just the angle, or is the Viennese Alex on the end a lot smaller than the other 2?

[Ted Cox]

The F is indeed quite a bit smaller than the two CC's. It's no longer "Viennese". It was converted to a more standard set-up. 1, 2, 3 on the right hand and 4, 6, 5 on the left. The sound, pitch, clarity, low range and amazing singing upper register are well worth having the fourth valve on the left hand rather than on the right. It's not that big of deal. The F is from the very early 60's. The nickel silver CC is 1964 and the brass Alex is for sure 1980. The reputation for Alexander tubas is great sound, not so great pitch. These three horns have exceptional pitch. I wouldn't want to play any of them without at least some sort of 5th valve.

[Ben]

Nice stable Ted. Here are my 3: (164C, 163C, 155F)


Are there any good recordings of you performing with your alexes? I know you weren't tooting your own horn before, but I'd still be interested in what you think might be a good example, or something you are proud of.

Thanks,

Ben

[Ted Cox]

Sweet horns Ben! As for recordings of myself on an Alex, 20 years of archival recordings with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. We've only recorded one commercial CD and that was the music from the OKC bombing memorial concert. I'm on a couple of the tracks, but nothing very juicy. I was able to get permission to release a small sample of the orchestra for the article I wrote about Alexander tubas in the last issue, (or was it next to last) of the ITEC Journal. I don't know if it's still on line or not. It was the chorale section from Mahler 2. I thought it was a nice example of the Alexander sound. The article is called "Sound Legacy." My solo CD was recorded on a PT-15, (which now for sale). I wish I had recorded it on an Alex, but alas, in 2002 I was still searching.

[MikeMason]

Ben,what's the story on the silver bell?

[Ben]

Mike- it was a replacement J.c. Sherman installed before I purchased it. The old bell was pretty much shot. I believe this one was found as "B" stock - you can see the leadpipe from the horn it was with was originally much higher placed. Unfortunately I don't have the details of J.c. and my conversations, as my old tubenet account locked up on me a couple months after I had purchased the horn. Maybe Jc can retell the story here - the 164 is the oldest of the 3 horns (late 40s or early 50s).

[Jobey Wilson]

Ben, great call on the Cincy Church Windows...that recording blew my mind about 10 years ago!!

Around 1997, I heard Ted play Alexander Nevsky with the OKC Phil...he absolutely blew me away, and that concert changed my life. 2 weeks later, I bought Lee Hipp's old Alex 163, changed my major to performance, and my adventure began. Ted has one of the most beautiful Alex sounds today...unreal!! Check him out if you can!

When I moved to Boston, Chester was so excited I played Alexanders (CC & F at that time), he actually pulled his out for quite few concerts those last 2 seasons...really an amazing treat hearing him play that gorgeous Alex in Symphony Hall...wow!!

I'll try to upload a couple pics from the days when i had much more hair

[Karl H.]

Not in the same league as the Michael Lind and other recordings, but this is an Alex F solo with concert band. And you can listen for free!

http://www.navyband.navy.mil/Sounds/Con ... ctotum.mp3" target="_blank" target="_blank

Karl " " H.

[tubalamb]

Pretty much any of the Boston Symphony recordings from 1967-1979 are Chester Schmitz using his Alex (I believe he started playing the Yorkbrunner in '80, but could be mistaken.) The Prokofiev Romeo & Juliet with Leinsdorf conducting has been mentioned, and another favorite of mine is Bruckner 6 with Steinberg.

A BSO/Tanglewood broadcast from '75 was recently released for purchase. Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony: http://www.bso.org/Merchandise/Detail/43859
Get it. It's worth the purchase.

Another of my favorites is a Houston Symphony recording of Dvorak 9 and Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini with Eschenbach conducting. Dave Kirk used one of his Alex's on that recording, and it's also great to hear Dave Waters on bass trombone. Dave also recorded Leroy Osmon's Concert Etudes on an Alex 163. And Ted is right, he still uses all of his Alexes depending on the rep. Years ago, I heard him do Tannhauser with the Alex F, and his go to horn for quintet is a small Alex CC (don't know the model number, yet it's not the 163 or 173)

For those that know the Cleveland lineage better than I do, is the Mahler 6 with Szell recorded in 1967 with Ron Bishop on an Alex? It's always been one of my favorite interpretations of the piece. For those interested, this is the pressing I have of the recording: http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphony-N ... d+mahler+6

[J.c. Sherman]

RE: Ben's Alex 164 Bell

I bought this in 91, and the bell showed significant signs of (terrible) repair work. About 6-ish years ago, out of nowhere, I saw light coming through a crack in the bell. On closer examination, there were a dozen or so lateral cracks in it! Yikes!

At around the same time, I had heard of a new 164 that was damaged in shipment to the west coast and replaced by Alexander. I quickly inquired for the damaged bell and bought it, repaired it and installed it. It just happened to be from a silver-plated instrument. The instrument played identically.

The leadpipe was lowered as part of the shortening process these used to require; they were REALLY flat (as exhibited by a 164 in Cleveland Orchestra's ownership from the same period). In shortening, it was also lowered to a comfy height (as well as other modifications I had done at time of purchase).

J.c.S.

[Mark E. Chachich]

Dave Bragunier played an Alexander 163. If you find an older National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, DC) recording that should be him. He had a very clear sound that fit with the orchestra very well. There is a nice recording of Shostakovich 9 on CD with Dave playing his Alex.

Mark